Pride & Prejudice DragonBall Z
by deenie.92
Summary: "Okay Bulma, take it from someone who sees it! Vegeta looks at you in such a way that I'm surprised he hasn't jumped your bones yet and I marvel at his self control!" -ChiChi: Chapter 46, Tears of Blood Finally continued...
1. The Beginning: The Ascending Saiyans

Pride & Prejudice

_**Pride & Prejudice **__**D.B.Z**_

_**Chapter One **_

_The two glowing silhouettes pressed on at lightening speed past the skyscrapers of … city… _

_Both of them had an identical glow around them but their appearances were highly distinct from one another. One had struck out black hair waving behind him, his black eyes reflecting inner warmth, his expression, though strictly focused expressed happiness and love of all kind in a way that can only be respected, cherished and admired._

_The other had spiked out dark brown hair that trailed long after him, his black eyes holding a cold hatred for his companion, his appearance giving of annoyance and blatant negativity, arrogance and most importantly, shock pride of value. _

_The duo had been flying onwards for hours now, escaping the cold tundra of the northern mountains where they had been training for a time period of six grueling well used months, attempting to achieve a level beyond a Super Saiyan. They had just separated from their green skinned friend, Picolo, a Namekian from a distant planet orbiting one of its own moons in the consistency of the galaxy, who had been conducting fighting skills with them in exercised finality and tempting practice. _

_Now they had finally reached their destination though the latter was still oblivious to why they were there at all, if anything could be indicated from his question…_

"**Kakarot! Why on earth are we in this community?"**

Vegeta felt thoroughly perplexed and utterly flustered as he sailed alongside Goku who was playfully facing the fierce wind that thrashed them both, accepting it willingly, enjoying the seemingly casual breeze bellowing through his outfit. He looked over at Vegeta and gave him a flash of his pearly whites before responding nonchalant.

"**Come on Vegeta! We've been training for months in those caverns. Even Picolo wanted a break!"**

"**What has that got to do with this place?"** he further challenged, not willing to give up the argument just yet, it was by far the only thing to do when one was traveling onwards for hours on end through the blank and boredom of the skies, only a cloud or two to dodge but on this particular day there happened to be not a single cloud within eyeshot as far as Vegeta could see. Goku paused for a second before continuing, as if he was trying to come up with a sufficient reason.

"**I don't know…guess I like it here! Nice place. Plus, we're a couple of healthy bachelors! Women will be swooning all over us!"**

"**Don't lie to me Kakarot! I know very well you do not desire the compassion of a female earthling!"**

"**That's not true! I'd love a wife who tucks me in at night, helps me iron my sash… cooks great delicacies…you know…wife things!"**

"**Sounds promising Kakarot"** Vegeta ended off sarcastically, trying to go on ahead, cut off Goku before he continued once again on a subject he was already loathing, but Goku carried on anyway, unaware he was reducing Vegeta's patience immensely.

"**You could get a wife to if…you know…you weren't so obnoxious, bossy, conceited…don't forget your temper…then there's your height…so short…and that hairdo!"**

"**KAKAROT! I demand you tell me where we are going and stop referring to all my flaws!"**

Vegeta wasn't sure what had made him retaliate so defensively but it had definitely something to do with those snide comments against his size, a very sensitive topic and his hair, even more so.

Goku apparently realized the damage inflicted on Vegeta's ego, either that or the frown Vegeta carried made it quite apparent, because his apology seemed sincere enough.

"**Sorry Vegeta, didn't mean it that way!" **he said in an embarrassed voice but Vegeta stared straight ahead, not interested in forgiving anyone, especially not his fellow Saiyan. He abruptly came to a sharp halt in mid-air, forcing Goku to retrace a few paces back to him.

"**Give me a straight answer Kakarot!"** he demanded furiously. **"WHERE-ARE-WE-GOING?"** His fists were balled up impatiently and Goku was thoroughly scared at the sight of Vegeta's looming figure but then reminded himself that he was stronger, could obtain a power level above a Super Saiyan. Then again, the Saiyan Prince had a power of his own and it didn't just produce from ki energy or simply brutal physical strength.

"**The truth is…there's an eastern culture convention and the flyer said there would be free noodle and stir fry samples"**

As Goku trailed off with a signature gulp he was able to bear witness to the bizarre metamorphosis of Vegeta's expression, which before had been thunderstruck was now beyond comprehension.

"**KAKAROT!!"** he roared loud and rough, generating massive pulsating power waves that were cracking buildings, smashing out the glass from windows, toppling cars and had created an enormous crater a good six feet deep in the road below them.

"**YOU DRAGGED US ALL THE WAY OUT HERE JUST SO YOU COULD PIG IT OUT AT A RIDICULOUS EARTHLING CONVENTION ON FOOD?? YOU IDIOT!!"**

"**Vegeta, STOP!"** Goku cried desperately and luckily Vegeta did, relaxing himself substantially but only to turn around and fly back in the opposite direction, Goku chasing after him.

"**Come back Vegeta! If you stay I could make it worthwhile!"**

Vegeta pulled his head back to let out a venomous laugh, increasing his speed even more so.

"**You think YOU have something worth MY time and interest?"** he scoffed loudly but Goku continued to persist in desperation.

"**You did say you wanted to train under gravitational extremes, right?"**

Vegeta's pride refused him the opportunity to come to a stop but he managed to slow down a bit, curious suddenly despite his continuously growing anger.

"**So what Kakarot? You do not possess the intellect to create such a device that could enable this! Why are you wasting my time?"**

"**I happen to have a friend in the city whose father is the president of the Capsule Corporation. They could give you what you want!"**

Vegeta digested this piece of information with a new light. He knew very well of the famous Capsule Corporation, Goku had on the occasion used the company's devices more than half the time on their training expedition and he had to admit, though only mildly and to himself at the limits, that he had been quite impressed at the technology and the contraptions build up, proving to be product of genius spawn. In fact, if the people to have created them were such geniuses a gravity chamber shouldn't prove to be too difficult, Goku had mentioned once before but he had ignored it at the time, yet he recalled it now cautiously.

He could obtain valuable skills under such training circumstances, go through some intense training needed in solitude and high defined conditions. He lowered his speed so he was aligned with a relieved Goku and then began badgering him.

"**Kakarot? Why are you so keen to give up this offer in my hands?"**

"**The thing is Vegeta; I have to keep an eye on you because after the stunt you just pulled you could be a danger to yourself. If you start arguing with yourself you could blow yourself up!"**

"**Kakarot, unlike you I do not fear a hallow mind. Nevertheless, I will accompany you-ONLY TO TRAIN!'**

"**Yeah, yeah! Bulma won't mi-"**

"**WAIT! We're asking a WOMAN for assistance?"**

"**She is a genius!"  
**Vegeta scowled in disgust, thinking it over, utterly ashamed at being forced to require the aid of a female inferior.

'**A female?'** he thought and it hurt his head to think the deadly word and understand its meaning. It was nerving. **'Urgh…females are practically useless! Always endlessly whining! The only time they're ever useful is when they produce young! Before that-whining, during that-whining and even after-whining! This is pathetic!!'**

"**Why do you wish to reside here Kakarot? You at least owe me that much!"**

"**I guess the free samples were the main thing but I have been eager to meet Bulma in a while now that we've brought her up…this'll be my chance to catch up……if you agree?"**

"**Well, of course I agree! Otherwise I wouldn't be asking, would I?"**

"**Well that's great! Brilliant! This'll be the best! Though, Bulma and you might have your differences…"**

"**Don't worry Kakarot! I don't want to even associate with her so we won't have an opportunity to begin arguing"**

"**Just control yourself Vegeta. Don't get to angry"**

"**Leave it Kakarot! I won't harm a single being while I stay to train so stop bothering me about it"**

Goku nodded sincerely, understanding that the discussion had come to an end and his favor, and charged up again so that the two flew off, back on their assigned course, into the distance, Goku's stomach rumbling the entire way…


	2. Strangers With Stir Fry

Pride & Prejudice D

_**Pride & Prejudice **__**D.B.Z**_

_**Chapter Two**_

_Bulma walked up and down the stalls set up in the convention centre with ChiChi ecstatic by her side, lending her money every now and then while she herself remained utterly bored and completely unsatisfied. Everywhere around her excited shoppers were making bargains and haggling with the hefty merchants while she herself remained the odd one out, only interested in searching through the crowd for someone to talk to, but no one seemed very interested and this disturbed the young scientist very much, she'd rather have been back at home or out to the cinema, not an Eastern Cultural Convention. But as a best friend's duty states, if one would like to shop somewhere then the other must accompany, or that was how she and ChiChi followed, birds of a feather clearly flocking together, despite the fact that one of them felt like her wing was broken._

"**Bulma, I'm going to try out this dress. Where will you be?"**_ ChiChi asked, interrupting Bulma's thoughts as she held up the clothing she was referring to against herself, checking the size. _

'**I'll probably be dead of boredom' **_Bulma thought to herself but to ChiChi she merely shrugged and suggested the free samples counter. In the end that was where she had to drag herself and once there decided she might as well have a cup of noodles to amuse herself with; there certainly wasn't anything better to do. _

_Joining the left cue she looked around for something to busy herself with, staring around through the crowd for anybody of interest to admire when her eyes fell on the person who was standing by the stir-fry give off, consuming the contents of his plate carefully yet acceptingly. She didn't know exactly what was about him that struck her but there was something indeed._

_He stood their, slightly short most definitely for Bulma doubted he was much taller than her, maybe an inch or so in succession, but he was standing tall and proud, looking highly attractive with his stacked up fire of hair a blazing sight, his dark untrusting eyes veered in different directions, the clear scowl on his face displaying an irritated personality and it caught Bulma quite off guard, she was so captivated by this unique person who stuck out vibrantly from the crowd. _

_Bulma observed him for a while when he suddenly looked her way and she tore her gaze away, her breath suddenly caught in her throat, her cheeks flushing slightly as she realized what she had been doing and mentally scolded herself. _

_Grabbing her cup of noodles as fast as possible she left the line and turned to search for the mysterious gazer, spotting him next to a taller familiar looking companion. She knew him that she was sure off but couldn't pinpoint how, even when he came; walking up to the counter for stir-fry and it was only when he spoke she realized who he was, not simply because of the voice, more the fact that he had just ordered a two dozen tray for himself and he clearly wasn't preparing to share with his friend._

"**Goku? Is that you?"**_ she asked in a high pitched voice and he turned around in clear surprise, his face breaking out in a grin upon seeing her, noodles and stir fry momentarily forgotten._

"**Bulma!"**_ he cried and she walked over to his side, happy to see her friend after so long._

"**Goku! What are you doing here? Last time I saw you was when you were a kid and we were hunting for the dragonballs!"**_ she reminisced and he to began to dream off times before. _

"**Yeah, well. An…acquaintance of mine and I were out training in the mountains and then we got joined up with Picolo so we've been there for a good six months. Before I was up training at Kami's lookout. You won't believe it but I can go Super Saiyan now!"**

"**Really!" **_Bulma exclaimed, thoroughly impressed by this shock of news._** "Before you were struggling with all that training Master Roshi was heading your way and according to Krillin that stuff was harsh!"**

"**Yeah well…once you get the hang of it it's quite simple. Not like making stir fry though. I must have taken dozens of cooking classes from Mr. Pobo but I just couldn't get it right!"**

"**Oh Goku, you're always thinking about food!" **_Bulma stated the obvious with a shake of her head, waving her blue hair about rhythmically._** "If you really want some cooking expertise though my Mom would be big help! Her cookies are to die for!"**

"**I know all about your Mom's cookies, remember? You used to bribe me with them so I'd do all the work when we searching for the dragonballs and you could go live it off! Not that I minded, those cookies were great!"**

"**Well, you can relive the memory by coming over my place for dinner, how 'bout that!" **_Bulma offered casually as her glance trailed slightly sideward to see if Goku's sinister 'acquaintance' was still there but he had vanished amidst the crowd of people, suddenly invisible to her. _

"**Actually"**_ Goku began suddenly as if remembering something crucial. _**"That's why we came here. Apart from me wanting to eat stir fry that is. See, my-"**

_Goku was distinctly cut off however when he saw Chi Chi appear by Bulma's side, holding the outfit she had chosen to purchase after trying it on, looking confused but nevertheless cheerful as she overlooked Goku with approval who seemed thoroughly mesmerized by her vision._

"**Ugh Goku?"**_ Bulma questioned, lightly waving a hand in front of his face so his attention came back and he looked over at Bulma, indicating ChiChi with a desperate expression and many eye movements._

"**Oh!"**_ Bulma exclaimed as she realized what Goku was gesturing at with his facial remarks and made a speedy introduction. _

"**Goku, ChiChi. ChiChi, Goku"**_ she introduced before slipping away, leaving the two who had barely formed two sentences when they suddenly struck up a lightening fast conversation. _

'**Cupid has struck again!'**_ she thought to herself before humming a random tune that had just somehow come to her as she passed by all the customers and tourists that had gathered around her and headed towards the main entrance where ChiChi would surely find her once she and Goku tore their gazes away from each other, their attraction was sadly obvious. _

_Breaking free she inhaled deeply, glad to be back in the open, escaping the claustrophobia of the jam packed convention centre as she looked around. Nobody was walking up and down the streets, everyone was crammed to see the convention and it was no surprise that the only sight there was one singular person inhabiting the bench for the bus stop a few paces in front of her and it was just her fate that it was the person that had captivated her thoughts and attention before Goku. _

_He was leaning back, looking up at the sky, not paying attention to the strange silence that had consumed him as well as Bulma now and for a few minutes it seemed to her as if he were frozen when he suddenly got up and Bulma jumped about a foot in the air behind him, ready to scream before clapping a sweaty palm over her mouth to stop herself from doing something stupid while her heart raced inside her throat from the fear she had been gripped in._

_He turned around, crossing round the bench and began walking towards her, so much in fact that Bulma felt her entire body tense. Each step brought him closer and she didn't know what to do, scream or whack him across the head with her purse and after silently debating with herself thought it best to simply look down at her heels which seemed suddenly very interesting._

_A few minutes later she realized she didn't have to do either because all he intended to do was walk past her, into the convention centre, probably to get Goku, acting as if she was just a cloud of air, except he didn't even bother to pretend to look through her, she felt that unappreciated._

_What got her most was not the fact that this complete stranger did not look her way, no matter how attractive he was she did have some self respect at the current time, but the fact that she was sure he had smirked behind her back over the prospect that she had been foolish enough to believe he was trying to gain her attention. Placing her hands on her hips she turned around, her blue hair battling the wind and glared at the back of his head but he didn't turn, just became engulfed in the crowd, enraging Bulma so much that she stomped over to the lamppost and kicked it vigorously, stubbing her right toe so that the pain not only flamed in that particular area but all through her body._

'**But that can be fixed'**_ Bulma reminded herself as she limped back in to force ChiChi to get going._** 'My ego and pride is broken though by a total stranger. How anti-climactic?'**


	3. A House Guest

Pride & Prejudice D

_**Pride & Prejudice **__**D.B.Z**_

_**Chapter Three**_

Vegeta felt so malicious he could have killed someone right that minute, having already picked a worthy candidate, if it weren't for Goku's steel grip on his wrist, reminding him to keep his patience no matter what the consequences.

The woman had so thoroughly enraged him it wasn't even a laughing matter though Goku would later try him when she wasn't around to comment, surely already preparing some comical statement to irritate him further.

"**Would you like another biscuit you're Royal Highness? Oh, oh, oh, oh! It feels so special to serve royalty. If only Bulma were here!"**

Vegeta balled his hands further into fists but refrained from revolting while Goku smiled weakly.

"**Now Bunny"** the seemingly smarter, though still clearly dense in Vegeta's opinion, husband spoke up. "**I'm sure Mr.…ugh…Vegeta…gets enough such statements from the press and paparazzi so why not treat him like…umm…well…just don't fuss!"**

Vegeta fumed further as he glared over at Dr. Briefs, as the man had introduced himself earlier.

'**Press and paparazzi'** Vegeta thought over viciously.

'**What on this damned earth is that? And is this common woman inflicting it on me?'**

Bunny managed to surpass another flirtatious giggle before serving around coffee, something alien to both her guests. Goku took a light sip and his face broke out a hyper active smile of glee and insanity mixed in one. Vegeta eyed the drink in the mug he held suspiciously, sifting it about with soft movements of the mug, watching it splashing about gazing over once or twice at his companion who was blabbering on about something with Dr. Briefs in a slightly high and over-used voice, as if he were drunk.

Not knowing what else to do he took a gulp and later it seemed that happened to be the most impromptu time to do so.

As soon as the liquid hit his lips the front door opened wide and a blue haired girl entered alone waving over to her parents and then looking over them all with shock.

Vegeta wasn't able to decide weather it was the sight of that same girl he saw at the convention centre that had made his eyes widen more than necessarily or the sudden bursting taste of the strange drink he was attempting to consume that made him spit it all out so suddenly but as soon as it happened everyone seemed to think it was the first one.

"**Yikes!"** the girl echoed when they all looked down at the stain created by Vegeta's mishap over utter shock but Bunny refused to let this spoil the night, especially when such a special, and more important, single, young man was over and her daughter had just entered, also a specialty in the single category.

"**Never mind that you're Majesty"** she hinted cheerfully, pushing her startled daughter over, past the coffee table and throwing her onto a singular sofa chair, opposite Vegeta. **"I was going to throw it out anyway! Have you met our daughter, Bulma!"** she added, throwing in the introduction for good measure in case Bulma shied off at that moment.

Vegeta sat back placing the mug on the table, not giving it a second glance but in fact locking his gaze upon Bulma, who shrunk down in the sofa chair in embarrassment as Bunny chattered on about all of her various strong and positive points, something Vegeta least cared about, he was too busy taking the real thing in.

'**This must be the woman Kakarot mentioned earlier! The one he traveled with when he was younger, searching for the dragonballs! He said she was a genius! Hmph! She didn't act like much when I passed her outside that building today. And she doesn't seem like that much right now either"**

Bunny had gone into a literal monologue about her daughter when Dr. Briefs suddenly cut her off, saving his daughter a terribly humiliating fate since Bunny was about to plunge into Bulma's history of how early she had started potty training, a sign of how gifted she was and what should be considered, a real prodigy.

"**See Bulma,"** he began as he indicated towards Vegeta lightly. **"Your friend Goku has brought along…umm…yes…Mr. Vegeta to train in a state of the art gravitational chamber while he himself stays in the city. The project could take a few months in development and if Vegeta were to train here he'd have to stay here with us for at least a year or so before its results had any affect on him. I was hoping you would help me out with this project as you've done such work before for Yamcha, though not as complex"**

Vegeta's eyes were wide with confusion as he digested in everything Dr. Briefs had just said, wanting to deny it as it was carelessly thrown in his face.

'**What does he mean 'a few months'? He cannot seriously believe that I would stay for a year with them in this lowly city!'** he thought furiously to himself, unable to understand why the time period should be so long as his gaze once again lingered over to Bulma who was transfixed with the same familiar horror Vegeta was facing as she listened to her fathers brief explanation when compared with Bunny's. **'How can this woman possibly be intelligent enough to help out with the project? She seemed literally stupefied when I approached her, acting like a complete idiot, as if I would waste my time with the likes of her! And why do these fools keep addressing me in such idiotic forms. What do they mean by calling me Mr. Vegeta??'**

Vegeta kept himself busy with these thoughts of fury when they were suddenly interrupted by a colossal shriek from within the room.

"**He's staying WITH US??" **Bulma gasped, trying to breathe for air, fanning herself with her hands while Bunny hummed about in the kitchen, pretending her daughter hadn't just suffered major heart attack emotionally and on the verge of physically.

Vegeta leaned forward on his knees and gave her a snide sarcastic smile when he realized how displeased she was at having him stay with her family, in their residence. So much in fact was he enjoying this disgusted outburst that he felt compelled to further tease her until he himself had exerted all his pressure.

"**You're not happy with me staying?"** he questioned innocently but his smile held a different meaning, one that only Bulma was able to read and which basically said, **'Doesn't matter-you're stuck with me!'**

Vegeta watched with thorough satisfaction while Bulma struggled for words to construct a suitable rejection, not wanting to seem rude but at the same time not wanting to appear too happy with the idea when she most certainly wasn't when Bunny stepped in, for once, with Vegeta's approval as this would lead to the further tormenting of Bulma.

"**Of course she's happy! A royal house guest! Bulma, you must be thrilled! No wonder you can hardly breathe!"**

Vegeta leaned back once again, smirking quite clearly, directing it at Bulma while she shot daggers at him with her flaming blue eyes from her mothers crushing death embrace.

It was only when Bunny came his way to show him his room, giggling and reminiscing at the same time did he realize how big of a sacrifice he had just made to show Bulma up…


	4. Blue Haired Tantrum

Pride & Prejudice D

_**Pride & Prejudice **__**D.B.Z**_

_**Chapter Four**_

_Bulma let out a petrifying shriek that erupted throughout the household as she entered her bedroom, tired from listening to Goku's monologue on Vegeta, her intentions of collapsing onto the bed her room held in fatigue unfulfilled. Unfulfilled they remained due to one solid issue and that was that as soon as she entered she found herself staring at the Saiyan Prince, who was standing in the middle of her room, arms crossed across his chest, his brow furrowed as he masked his confusion and shame with fury. He looked quite odd amongst the floral print and romance novels that engulfed Bulma's room, with the exception of her scattered inventions, still and silent on the matter of his inappropriate location._

"**WHAT ARE YOU DOING IN MY BEDROOM??"**_ she screamed in high pitched trauma as she backed up, leaning against her door in case her legs failed her, gazing down at all her clothes and other material possession scattered about and flushed a deep scarlet when she noticed her underwear thrown across the bed in clear view for the house guest who was purposely looking up at the ceiling to avoid seeing anything to feminine for him to accept. Vegeta reacted by cupping each gloved hand upon an ear, she had past the sound barrier!_

"**BE QUIET WOMAN!!"**_ he yelled back in his deep more threatening voice and Bulma immediately silenced herself, terrified at this stranger but then suddenly she remembered that this was her room and in her room she made the rules, even when it could cost serious damage if the rules made a certain someone too angry._

"**Excuse me Vegeta! But this is my room and YOU shouldn't be in it!"**_ she informed him smugly. Vegeta looked up her, locking his gaze on Bulma so she suddenly felt her body freeze uncomfortably._

"**Your…mother…told me to wait here"**_ he muttered irritably n a slightly tortured voice, glaring at Bulma who suddenly sympathized with him for having to face her mother's hospitality._

"**Oh! Well…ummm…you can come here…in the…hallway"**_ she offered, whipping the door open and clearing the doorway for him to pass by which he did briskly, almost gracefully Bulma thought to herself before shaking the thought out with complete sincere disgust._

"**How long do I have to wait around woman?"**_ Vegeta asked with impatience, refusing to look at Bulma who felt thoroughly insulted. _

"**I don't know-VEGETA- but I have a name! It's Bulma! Bul-ma! B-U-L-M-A! Bulma!"**_ she stated out loud, hoping Vegeta understood but he merely ignored her so that she felt more infuriated then even in her life._

"**You know Vegeta"**_ she began slyly, deciding it was her turn to trap him. _**"I know you only agreed to stay here to annoy me!"**

_She observed him closely as she said this and to her annoyance he refused to even blink, the guilt was so well hidden._

"**I just want you to know"**_ she continued, pacing herself, _**"that you're not about to get to me! Whatever you're doing, I can take it!"**

"**Are you insane woman?" **_he sounded off rather casually, still refusing to face her while Bulma fumed within herself. _**"You really think I'm here, wasting my time, for you??"**

_Bulma felt her cheeks flush but refused to give in, instead raising her decibel. _

"**I'm not stupid you know! Just because my parents and Goku didn't see the torment you put me through downstairs doesn't mean it didn't happen. You enjoyed it!"**

_Finally, just as she had hoped, Vegeta turned around to face her, and he was looking angrier than ever. Bulma could sense the frustration of the trap he had set for himself, having to live with them just to tease her, but more importantly she could feel the seismic waves protruding from him, cracking the plaster of the walls and ceiling. _

"**Admit it! You're just in it to see how this affects me! Fess up!" **_Bulma accused vehemently, watching him become madder, the plaster becoming loose above her head._

"**You must be mad woman!" **_Vegeta announced as the a big chunk of ceiling plaster came down and hit Bulma on the head lightly, making her blue hair a shade of old gray white._

"**Oh God! Stop cracking the ceiling, the plasters falling off!"**_ she ordered, brushing the fragments of broken plaster off her head, giving Vegeta an annoyed look but he merely smirked his uniformed smirk._

"**Will you stop pestering me if I do??"**_ he asked sweetly, the sarcasm drowning the question as Bulma struggled with words, trying to head him down and at the same time keep her hair clean. _

"**If you stop acting like a jerk and just admit it!"**_ she conditioned, balling her hands into fists as she always did when her temper rose. Vegeta's temper in itself was only at a minor stage but Bulma knew that that could create damage in itself._

"**ADMIT IT!!"**_ she commanded to which Vegeta only boldly replied, _**"I am a Saiyan Prince! I take orders from NO ONE!"**

_Realizing that Vegeta might just collapse the house if their argument proceeded she surrendered by turning on her heel furiously and stomping off down the stairs, letting out a furious cry of rapture that seemed to echo around her, leaving Vegeta alone once again._

_She found her father and Goku at the landing, gazing up at her in worry, proving they had heard everything she and Vegeta had said to each other. Her mother remained idol in the corner, fiddling with a bunch of keys, trying to get one for the guest room._

"**Now Bulma…"**_ her father began but Bulma had already sunk into oppression and turned to blame her mother. _

"**MOM! YOU CAN'TJUST ADOPT HIM!! HE COULD BE…AN ASSASSIN OR SOMETHING!"**

"**Wait just a minute"**_ Goku cut in and Bulma turned her evil eye on him. _**" I know Vegeta's very…you know…but he's not an assassin anymore…ugh…meaning he wasn't ever…well he was…but not anymore…definitely not anymore…"**

_Goku's stammers got Bulma worked up further and she began attacking her mother once again._

"**MOM! He can't stay here!"**

"**Bulma dear, we can't throw him out, he's royalty!"**

"**He's not Earth royal Mom so it shouldn't matter"**

"**It's rude darling"**

"**He can go stay in some five star hotel! I'll even pay for the stay!"**

"**Why waste your money when our arms are open?"**

_Bulma folded her arms across her chest defensively to emphasize her point. _**"Speak for yourself"**

"**I think he's sweet. So polite, doesn't talk too much, always sits erect!"**

"**Mom, the only reason he's staying here is to bug ME!"**

"**That's so sweet. He's grasping your attention that way! I mean, the way he spit out his coffee upon seeing you must mean something!"**

"**Mom…you're delusional"**

"**Imagine if you had kids together! They would have his princely manners!"**

"**MOM!!"**

"**It would be fun to have such grandchildren!"**

_Bulma turned away from her mother pathetically, rolling her eyes when Goku came over and put both hands on her shoulder._

"**Listen Bulma. I know Vegeta's very…ummm…Vegeta-ish but I'm sure if you open up a bit he won't bug you so much. Please. I really want to hang out with people, socialize and enjoy myself for a while but I have to keep an eye on Vegeta just the same. And he'll only stay because of this gravitational training scheme. Please Bulma…"**

_Bulma looked , up at Goku, his eyes begging and she felt her heart swell with affection for her childhood friend, realizing she couldn't just burst his bubble, it would be to cruel and nodded in approval with an _**'Okay Goku'**_ to make it meaningful, giving him a well disguised forced smile and in response he patted her on the back and sent her flying across the room and landing with a soft thud on the sofa, all her short blue cropped hair standing up straight in spikes from the shock of being sent whirling in the air.._

"**Ooops! I forgot that happens. I once sent Master Roshi flying into the ocean once…"**_ he said and began sinking into blissful memories as he headed for the door when Bulma came tearing after him in alarm, tripping over a bit but managing to get by his side._

"**Hey, where you going?"**_ she asked curiously though her voice had lowered slightly, a dangerous glint in them and fear was visible in Goku's face._

"**Well, I'm going to your friend ChiChi's house!"**

"**Oh! So what time you coming back! I mean, you are staying with us!"**_ she informed him in a forceful tone and suddenly Goku was blushing and before he said it she knew it had happened._

"**ChiChi said I could stay over at her place, she has a spare room and all! Don't want to cause trouble you know!"**_ he chuckled but Bulma set his smile straight with one glare._

"**No trouble! Just dump Vegeta on our backs! Since when did she know about this whole thing! How come she never told me on our way home?"**_ Bulma demanded upfront but Goku merely attempted escape._

"**I didn't want you to be prepared or you might not have come home at all in fear of Vegeta or something!" **_he lamely excused before running out the door and when Bulma sped after him, prepared to send a flying punch to his head he had already flown up into the night sky, disappearing in the clouds, her curses creaming out into the air after him…_


	5. Unbeknowst Acceptance

Pride & Prejudice D

_**Pride & Prejudice **__**D.B.Z**_

_**Chapter Five**_

Vegeta's muscles tensed nervously as he looked up with his glaring eyes, black and empty as usual as they blinked speedily in surprise, listening to what was going on downstairs, starring Bulma and this time, her mother in a full fledged and rather typical argument.

"**Mom! He's your beloved house guest! Why do I have to go open his door for him and set out his bed sheets, huh?"** Bulma demanded in an exhausted voice and Vegeta heard the jingling of a set of keys, probably Bulma rattling them in her mothers face.

"**Sweetie, I'm here making dinner for your father and that adorable Saiyan Prince!"**

Vegeta was forced to wince at this, unable to understand how this woman, obviously the one responsible for producing that blue haired exceeding voice box, had ever actually made it till her stage of survival, she seemed much to naïve to adjust to real life situations. Then again, earth hadn't succumbed to the trauma and terrors that his home planet had suffered and thus her lack of sufficient intelligence hadn't led to her or anyone else's demise, though if it did, her daughter seemed the first prime victim.

"**Mom! I can't believe your making me DO THIS!!"**

"**Bulma, I know this seems difficult but please listen to your mother"**

Clearly the father had decided to speak up to which Vegeta could only say, **"It's about time",** displeased at how spineless the man seemed in the face of his wife and child. He was most definitely the one possessing the brains and mental strength in the family, the wife lacking this considerably, yet he had no backbone at all and seemed rather afraid of him which only amused Vegeta.

"**Go, do as you're told and open his door for him. Make him comfortable. Make him at home!" **

Vegeta twitched at the mother's final sentence and smirked to himself while he thought about how difficult Bulma would find it to make HIM feel at home.

'**It can never be done'** he thought, trying to treat the prospect as a joke but a clutching loneliness grasped hold of him, deep within him, maybe not in his heart, but somewhere deep.

When he looked up again, this time more hesitantly, Bulma was marching towards him, hands balled into fearsome fists, the right one closed around a ring of metal house keys. She was a blazing sight, her blue spikes wild and untamed, her facial expression pure hatred and loathing, her eyes flaming as she eyed him with disgust. He'd never felt more pleased in his life.

She seemed to be one who based her strength on intimidation, much like himself, except that he had physical power to back it up. Then again, she herself looked capable of sending a harsh hit someone's way, even if not in a Saiyan's direction and according to what he'd heard about her, she had obtained her fathers and not her mothers gene's concerning brain power which he was silently thankful for, not able to deal with one fitfully flirting woman, not wanting to think about dealing with two.

'**This woman really is very entertaining! I guess I'll be having fun with her'** Vegeta thought to himself and his smirk grew more mocking as Bulma came to a steadfast halt in front of the door his body was half way guarding. Shifting over so that she could open it without coming any closer than the occasion called for, arms still crossed over his chest as they normally seemed to be, he watched her place the key in its hole with some difficulty, she was so blinded with frustration and anger.

He watched her fiddle around, trying to click the lock to her satisfaction but she couldn't seem to turn it right.

'**This is such a waste of time! I could blast that door open with a minor shot and I have to stand here waiting with this knowledge while she attempts with a key!'** Vegeta told himself, watching her with common irritancy and that occasional impatience of his.

Finally, with flushed cheeks and beads of sweat aligned across her forehead Bulma was able to whip the door open for him, the sudden rush of it flying past creating a cool two second breeze for both of them to bask in before she stepped inside and gestured for him to follow her, refusing to actually speak, he was quick to notice.

He observed her strip the bed of its daisy print sheets and toss then onto the floor before retreating to a nearby wardrobe and taking out a fresh batch of deep green shade which, though not something of his taste, was nevertheless more masculine in comparison to the daisy print set.

She worked fast, smooth in her effort, her slender fingers opening and spreading the sheets in flashes. It was the fact that she was in a rage while attempting this chore that made watching her more excitable to the otherwise bored and unsatisfied Vegeta. Her every movement he watched, weather it was to make his presence known or merely so that he could be aware of her presence.

It was her eyes that mystified Vegeta for they no longer held that fear that had unwillingly flashed through them when he had proved to her what power he had earlier and how such little of it could create such damage.

She had tried to appear strong, done an impressive job he had to admit, but that fear had blown her cover.

Now, however, her eyes held no such thing. They definitely held that despising sensation for him, that was sure, but there was something else that he could not place his finger on, something unknown which he later gave up on. He only knew of one thing surely concerning this mystery of a person and that was this; she would never in her lifetime or his, come to fear him and though this was new to him he found it strangely okay and not worth bothering anyway.

'**Why should I care what the woman is going through? She's not worth anything to me!'**

Bulma suddenly left the bed, its contents made and assembled and strut past Vegeta in a proud and civilized way, carrying the abandoned daisy print sheets out ignoring him completely, not saying a word.

Vegeta watched her leave the room with much amusement before stepping forward and closing the door lightly, not wanting to slam it in case Bulma returned to yell at him, not that he wouldn't have minded.

'**Though her arguing wears me out it is quite enjoyable to watch her struggle to contradict me'**

He stalked over to the window and looked outwards towards the city's landscape, observing the buildings structure, the miniature hover cars that flew within its domain, the dots of people lingering about, unbeknownst of the solitude enhanced observer.

He was here for a year.

'**One entire year in this earthling infestation! Living with these idiots! Even Kakarot isn't that testing! I can bear his foolish antics, even if barely...'**

Leaning on the sill he closed his eyes firmly shut, the wrinkles of thought appearing along his forehead, and longed to be back on his home planet, amongst his fellow Saiyans, strong powerful beings that knew what the title, Saiyan Prince, really meant. Knew the pride he held and for what reason it was his right to do so.

He indulged further into these inducing thoughts and a void of complete and utter solitude absorbed him, his mind adrift, lost in the sea of his life.

There was a strict knocking coming from the door and Vegeta's eyes abruptly shot open, wide with annoyance at being disturbed so suddenly and at such an inconvenient timing but he couldn't stop Bulma from entering the room, carrying a glass of fresh apple juice, unless he was planning to commit murder, something not to far off his conscience.

"**What do you want woman?"** he asked plainly, not really putting and effort to be thoroughly insulting, though Bulma took it so right away.

"**It's not my issue if my mother wants to be all welcoming!"** Bulma erupted, thumping the glass down furiously by Vegeta's arm on the sill, so furiously in fact that some it's contained liquid splashed onto his arms. Vegeta's brow deepened but he didn't say anything and so Bulma was unaware of the mess, already speaking on.

"**My mom's making dinner and she wants to know whether you are allergic to any-**

"**Saiyans don't have allergies"** he merely drawled, not moving himself at all, avoiding her at all costs.

"**-thing"** Bulma trailed off at the interruption, trying to understand the complexity of her house guest but then shook her head and carried on.

"**Also, do you have any luggage to-"**

"**No"**

Vegeta smirked to himself as he was followed by silence, realizing clearly that he had interrupted her again and suddenly the game he thought up seemed to appear more entertaining.

"**We're going to work on your gravity chamber tomorrow so what time will you** **wa-"**

"**Sunrise"**

"**Should we also take you out to buy clo-"**

"**Fine"**

"**And do you want break-"**

"**Yes"**

"**STOP THAT!!"**

Vegeta was beginning to wonder when she was going to crack in annoyance and was a bit put off when she finally did and decided firmly that it was over. Bulma waited to see if her outburst produced any reaction of sorts and when she found none she merely rolled her eyes in deep annoyance and began to stalk out of the room, speedily and as fast as her legs could mobilize her.

Placing her hand around the metal doorknob she was ready to slam it with prepared force when her heart took a change of light.

"**Vegeta"** she called but he remained motionless, hearing her quite clearly but refusing to fall into subject.

"**Make yourself at home"**

The door gradually slid to a soft close and when Vegeta became convinced that his ears had not failed him he reached out for the glass she had placed by his side, his hand clasping around it, ready to lift it up…

'**These humans are so bloody damn influential…'**


	6. Four Months On The Line

Pride & Prejudice D

_**Pride & Prejudice **__**D.B.Z**_

_**Chapter Six **_

_As the sun rises, it shines brilliant streaks of light on the Capsule Corporation Complex, through each and every lightly curtained window of the residential portion, as it always has. The only change remains that a fourth now awakens in its dimensions, trying to avoid the fluttering of his eye lids being forced open as he always has done for the passing four months while he has resided here._

_Soon enough he gives in and stumbles out of the bed assembling his usual proud composure, a presentable stage before disappearing out the house into the garden built gravity room built by the hosts of his stay where he will most probably train till the late call for breakfast._

_As always, the blue haired occupant of the room across hears his heavy footsteps pass downstairs and she wonders at his determination, the complexity of it all, accompanied by his thanklessness._

_The gravity room was a crucial project, needed full attention and yet, had been managed and conducted in the half the time it was estimated to have begun. It's applier however, was bound to it and the family for over a coming year, yet, he had already begun steadfast training, every singular morning and she was used to hearing him depart and then, sometimes, return late into the night._

_She remembered the first time that they had properly conversed, an event hopefully never to be repeated after the several dozen times it was, and though they barely spoke now than before they both had got hold of the more revealing persona of each other._

_She knew him as arrogant, selfish, biased and blinded by pride._

_He knew her as obnoxious, interfering, conceited and utterly self absorbed. _

_Neither had peered into the more protective under layer, where true feelings and emotions lay, the minute progress made over the period they had shared so far, living together but though this relationship was a disaster, predicted earlier, another had blossomed around the corner in the blank stretch of time…_

_Bulma stood, leaning against the wall near the front door, running her free hand through her blue mass, positioned next to the small hand table that possessed the lamp, above which was the cradle for the cordless phone she was using to speak yet again to her closest and most dearest friend, ChiChi with whom Goku had been staying with for the past four months she had tended to Vegeta's every single whim and as plan dictated, Goku still remained, thoroughly satisfied with the current arrangements and the layout of the conditions._

"**Oh Bulma, I can tell we're meant to be!"**_ ChiChi sung off the line while Bulma listened with worried anticipation, biting her nails slightly before speaking again.. _

"**I know ChiChi but-"**

"**He's so sweet, goodhearted, care-"**

"**-don't rush-"**

"**-ing! Always asks me how-"**

"**-into these types-"**

"**-I am! Never does any-"**

"**-of things! They should be-"**

"**-thing selfish! Nothing's ben-"**

"**-handled with care…"**

"**-eath him he says! The only danger I face is major bankruptcy due to jeopardy grocery shopping!"**

"**Goku has been known to eat…a lot!"**

"**That's the biggest understatement of the century! But that simply makes me love him all the more!"**

_Bulma bit her lip harder than usual as she heard ChiChi claim her compassion for Goku on the phone and though she knew she could easily trust Goku with ChiChi's heart it still seemed it would end up broken, one way or another, so that they were in a trap, 'damned if you do, damned if you don't' type of scenario she couldn't help comparing._

"**ChiChi? How far has Goku gone in expressing his…love?" **_she asked further for good measure and confirmation._

"**All the way! Why?"**_ ChiChi retorted, a bit of suspicion rising in her normally even voice._

"**Well…it's just…Goku doesn't exactly get the entire concept of love, you know!"**

"**Are you trying to say my Goku doesn't love me?"**

"**OH NO!"**

"**Because if you are, just remember! We're meant to be! We're proclaimed soul mates!"**

_Bulma held the receiver arms length away from her ear, absolutely positive that ChiChi had finally succeeded in damaging her cornea, at long last. _

"**ChiChi!"**_ she began once again, gradually bringing the phone back to its previous position. _**"I'm not saying you're not meant to be, just that you should slow down a bit!"  
"Are you suggesting Goku would break up with me? Well, you listen up you blue bimbo fascist! We are not breaking up! Goku would never leave me! It's not like I'm bossy or overpowering or protective or something like that! Those are the reasons most couples break up!"**

_Bulma shook her head as ChiChi recited and counted off all the faults of a supposed and imagined 'incomplete' woman in Goku's life, if he had ever even had one which Bulma highly doubted. _

'**People become so blind to themselves when in love with others'**_ thought Bulma as she pretended to be listening and agreeing to the ranting on the other line, so lost that she was clearly unprepared for when ChiChi sent an outright accusing question flying her way._

"**Why are you suddenly trying to make me feel uncomfortable about this relationship? Are you trying to break us up? You want Goku, don't you?"**

_Bulma let out a tired sigh of exasperation after she got over the shock of the interrogation and responded with a plain, simple and utterly sincere _**"NO!!"**

"**How do I know that's the truth?"**

"**Because, in case you haven't noticed, I'm DATING Yamcha!"**

_It was just as she screamed this with finality into the receiver that Vegeta waked in, looking especially put off, his stone cold eyes looking everywhere, veering off in any direction but hers. He walked past her, clad in only his black sporting shorts, white socks and trainers, dripping off sweat, indicating his excessive training exposure. As soon as he had turned the corner that led up the flight of stairs Bulma let out a deep breath she didn't know she had been holding and felt relief wash over her._

"**He probably thinks I'm rabid"**_ she thought out loud, completely forgetting that she was still on the phone and got the freak of her life when ChiChi suddenly interrupted the silence._

"**Who thinks you're rabid?"**_ she asked, her tone changed utterly, as if they hadn't been arguing split seconds ago, ignoring Bulma's high pitched shriek of shock. Bulma began to sink down until she was upon the carpet, hugging her knees, thanking Kami cordless had been invented before her time and was here in physical blessing to grace her._

"**Vegeta…"**_ she finally answered unwillingly, resenting it when ChiChi let out an uncontrollable snort of disbelief._

"**Vegeta? VEGETA! The big, 'I'm Prince of All Saiyans, bow before me and hand over 400 pancakes or else' Vegeta? What do you care what he thinks?"**

"**I d…don't!"**_ Bulma stammered back abashed that she actually had cared for a moment, despite not having any consideration for the arrogant prince, his views not even existent in her mind. ChiChi didn't sound like she believed her but went round the subject._

"**So, why would he think you're rabid?"**

"**He probably thought I was…you know…boasting about Yamcha! That's kind of a tacky thing to do…"**

"**Please! The guy wears blue spandex in public! He won't care!"**

"**He already hates Yamcha enough. And his spandex is kind of-"**

"**DON'T!"**_ ChiChi warned, preventing her from saying the inevitability she was about to mindlessly mention. _**"Just let it go. You know Vegeta. We all have our biased opinions but Vegeta's prejudice is aimed at the entire planets population. I have to go and you clearly need a bit of personal therapy so just stop thinking about it! Bye!"**

"**Yeah…bye"**

_Bulma remained curled up in her balled position on the floor, still clutching the phone even after ChiChi had hung up, every now and then poking at her hair which she had recently styled into an afro. _

_Minutes later Vegeta passed by again, retracing his steps to the gravity room to train further, as usual, paying no attention to Bulma who was by far expecting yet found herself strangely disappointed before brushing it off._

"**I don't care"**_ she told herself with determination. _**"I don't…"**


	7. Of Afros and Lazy Saiyans

Pride & Prejudice D

_**Pride & Prejudice **__**D.B.Z**_

_**Chapter Seven **_

Vegeta swiftly dodged another one of Dr. Briefs self built laser animated robots and aimed a stealthy kick at its rear, sending it flying across the room, denting the metal walls heavily yet again.

"**Kakarot will be surprised I conducted so much training in such a short period of time! My power level is soaring!"**

Bending over to exhale a long and stalled breath he decided he might as well shower off and have an early dinner and switched off the artificial gravity by the manual board Bulma had taught him with much reluctance to operate. Stalking off to the main house with the towel wrapper comfortably around his neck, hanging of his shoulders, he prepared himself for the reasonably warm bubbly running water and a distressed blue haired damsel to pick on and demand dinner off.

Upon entering he found Bulma exactly as she had been the last two times he had past her and did a perfect job of ignoring her, something she deserved after bringing up that weakling Yamcha before him, even if it hadn't been on purpose which he was sure it hadn't.

There was something about Yamcha that Vegeta sensed was not quite right. His love for Bulma was not an honest one, Vegeta was quite sure of that but he had no proof by which to defend his accusation, it wall based on instinct.

'**She's supposed to be a genius! Can't she tell that petty excuse for a man is using her?'**

Passing by her with not an inch of emotion or interest etched on his face he turned the corner and began ascending the steps rather slowly, as if hauling himself.

'**Why should I be worrying for her?'** he thought on. **'Why do I care what he does to her? She is nothing to me!'**

Weakly halting on the landing he turned to head for the bathroom and upon reaching the door was able to hear the sound of running water and a dying animal's cries. Trying the doorknob he found it was locked and he became so frustrated by this that he ended up pulling it right off the door, gripping it in his hand murderously. Throwing it aside he formed his right hand into a fist and began pounding the door as a form of knocking, causing a few severe cracks to appear in the wooden surface.

Sooner or later the door opened a crack and clouds of billowing steam escaped as a familiar face peeked out and caught sight of Vegeta. He suddenly realized who the tortured and dying animal had been…

"**Oh Vegeta! Was that you knocking? If you need Bulma she's right downstairs! Do you need something sweetie?"**

Vegeta winced as Bunny finished her question off with the unnecessary addressing and beamed up at him expectantly.

'**Sweetie? Is this woman mad?'** he thought as he began to edge away, trying to make a quick escape when Bunny realized his purpose.

"**Oh! You need to use the shower, right? Let me just come out honey!"**

As Bunny disappeared inside again Vegeta could feel his head spinning from thoughts of exactly what he would have to face next.

'**Honey? Is this woman terminally obsessed with sugary snacks?'** he fumed as Bunny came out, wrapped up in only the bath towel and a pink floral shower cap on her head. Vegeta felt his face flush and he began to glower as he turned around, facing his back towards a confused yet perfectly ecstatic Bunny, and marched down the hallway, ready to descend the stairs.

"**That woman will be the death of me!"** he swore out loud as he trudged downwards, mind still aching with Bunny's singing melodies continuously rattling his brain.

Turning round the corner from the stairs he was thrust into a colossal accident when Bulma suddenly ran into him, head butting his face with her giant blue afro.

"**Urgh! Watch where you're going woman!"** Vegeta warned as he backed up a step, wiping his face free of blue strands of hair, and gave Bulma a fearsome glare which she returned with equal hatred, placing her hands on her hips as she normally did before she began an argument with him.

"**I was when you barged straight into me! Why don't you keep your eyes open?"**

Vegeta growled under his breath, cursing Bulma in his mind as she over looked him in a way he despised, as if she were judging him. He brought his gaze up to her afro, finding it useless as always and made a point of telling her so when she noticed his eyes upon her hair.

"**What? Is my hair oddly shaped? Hair sticking out? Come on Vegeta, spill!"**

"**I don't care about your hair issues woman! That entire hairdo is ridiculous!"**

Bulma's eyes widened as Vegeta blared this statement, she felt hurt at this critique, though she shouldn't have cared as it was Vegeta after all, insulting her as always. Yet, somehow, it was his hard-to-please opinion that meant the most to her though what was the logic behind this strange hidden desire she could not figure out.

Feeling his duty was done, he poised into his signature posture, scowling menacingly as he shifted to his left and began to pass her without another word when she suddenly spoke in a different more helpless tone of voice.

"**You think it's…ridiculous?"**

Vegeta turned around in shock after hearing her sound so pitiful and look even more so. It was a position of vulnerability he knew well and decided to choose that moment to torment her further.

"**If you really want to know what I have to say about it then it's how I wonder how you pull a shirt over that thing!"**

Bulma brought a tentative hand up to pat her hair down, her lips quivering as Vegeta looked her over, impressed at how badly she was taking this criticism, unable to understand why two such badly conducted comments could offend her so badly.

"**Honestly Vegeta!"** she stammered with blind rage. **"You can be so brutal!"**

"**It took you long enough to catch on!"** he mocked sarcastically, wanting to just run out of there, perhaps to the kitchen he decided while she turned to the mirror on the wall behind her and began prodding at her afro.

"**Gosh! Yamcha always said he liked it!"** she said more to herself as she admired her profile but Vegeta heard even so.

'**Again! That fools name! Doesn't she realize he'll say anything to please her? No one could like that monstrosity on her head and yet she persists'**

It was then that the doorbell rang and Bulma whirled around, face glowing, biting her lip still, pale all over.

"**It's Yamcha! He's here for our date and I'm still not ready!"** she panicked, pacing the spot before turning on Vegeta, pointing the blaming finger at him.

"**This is your fault!"**

"**WHAT?"**

"**Yes! If you hadn't got me arguing and then the hair and with the bumping…"**

"**I fail to see how that is my entire fault woman!"**

"**That's not the only thing you FAIL to see! It's your fault Vegeta, because you kept me so preoccupied I didn't go up to get ready! I was supposed to be looking perfectly glamorous by now!!"**

"**So you blame ME because your needs to look good are so great?"**

"**I don't have time for this Vegeta! Go answer the door while I try to appear somewhat attractive!"**

"**Certainly not! I am a Saiyan Prince! I don't go around opening doors for lowly inferiors!"**

Bulma sighed pathetically at his stubborn behavior, glancing down at her watch nervously while Vegeta merely smirked.

"**What DO you do Vegeta?"** she asked after raising her head once again to give him a tired expression, quite annoyed.

"**If I were having my jobs done there wouldn't BE any 'Yamcha' to answer the door for!"**

"**You are so IMMATURE! Go answer the door or I'll shut off the gravity room, PERMANENTLY!" **she threatened, beginning to climb the stairs when Vegeta reacted.

"**And then I'll merely blow the roof in!"**

"**You are so lazy! Who knew Saiyan Royalty were such bums?"**

Vegeta's eyes correctly blazed at this insult and he felt like thrusting an energy ball right at her. She had scarred him and his pride, something no one had the authority to do.

"**How dare you? Saiyans are NOT lazy!"** he yelled defensively.

"**Why don't you prove that by answering the door?"** she screamed back before stomping upstairs and in a matter of seconds he heard the forceful slamming of her door. Now that everything was silent he could hear Yamcha going insane with the doorbell and with much regret he went to answer the door…


	8. The Green Eyed Monster

Pride & Prejudice D

_**Pride & Prejudice **__**D.B.Z**_

_**Chapter Eight **_

_Bulma frowned deeply as she slipped in her second pure gold hoop earring from the pair her father had gotten her for her birthday last year in June and then began to look over her make up, making sure it was striking yet natural, a neutral sense. Finally her hair was left to be tended to and this suddenly troubled her as she pulled her afro in a defeated way with her hairbrush._

"**Maybe…maybe Vegeta's right"**_ she conducted out loud as she struggled with a painstaking stroke. _**"It is kind of crazy!"**

_Proceeding, she finally gave in to the tangles, deciding she would just pull it back with a hair band instead. _

"**Trust Vegeta to be so honest!"**_ she half joked as she searched through her various hair articles, unable to pick a favorite colour, she hated and loved them all so much. _

"**Why didn't anyone tell me it was a mess?"**_ she moaned further. _**"If Yamcha had said something before I would have immediately straightened it! Or ChiChi!"**

_Holding up one red band and one black band she began randomly debating, not really applying herself, her thoughts were somewhere else as she wallowed in self-pity. _

"**Why do I care what Vegeta thinks? His opinion doesn't count! Like ChiChi said, 'The guy wears blue spandex in public!'****I shouldn't be taking what that fashion reject says to heart!"**

_Thoroughly convinced that Vegeta was in the wrong once again she chucked the black hair band over her shoulder, carefree, and cheerfully slipped on the red one before bouncing up and searching for a matching purse to occupy herself with._

"**I must be nuts!"**_ she chided as she whipped open her cupboard in a blaze and began feeling around for a spare purse lying about, stray._

"**If my own boyfriend says he likes my hair I should be content!" **_she comforted herself as she snatched up a red bag and slung it off her shoulder._

"**Vegeta's too negative to take seriously! He always wants to put me down and raise my temper for his amusement!"**_ she reminded herself carefully as she double checked for her wallet and cell phone that possessed zero credit._

_With a 'perfect' addressed towards her reflection she headed out her room before skipping down the stairs, causing a waiting Yamcha to sit up eagerly and Vegeta to merely allow his eyes to widen, slightly startled at her sparkling performance._

"**Hey Yamcha!"**_ she broke out casually, waving over at him, pleased to see Vegeta sink into his sofa chair with unease, enjoying the miraculous prospect that she could actually make the Saiyan Prince feel squeamish._

"**Hey...Bulma…"**_ Yamcha said, slightly off-key, still mesmerized by Bulma's sudden vision. _**"What…happening?"**

_Bulma shrugged meaninglessly, still eying Vegeta through the corner of her noticing eye, watching him cringe terribly, revolting at the both of them and she wanted him to know suddenly how much he irritated her in a small detectable hint._

"**Same old, same old"**_ Bulma dictated randomly, heading down the hall before pausing to speak over her shoulder. _**"Still tending to my 'EXTREMELY LAZY HOUSE GUEST!"**_ she added rather loudly at Vegeta's expense who merely got off his seat and walked over to her lazily, daring to tread right up to the two of them and simply scowl._

"**You know, I'm right here woman! If you want to take your anger out just say it to my face!"**

_Bulma flared disbelievingly, outraged Vegeta wasn't in the least embarrassed and that his attitude was still so direct, as if he was treating her complete misery and discomfort at tending to him like a joke, which, she reminded herself, he probably was._

"**You are so irritating! After everything you're not the least bit sorry are you?"**

"**Not at all!"**_ he answered and took a few steps closer so that Bulma took a few fearful paces back, behind Yamcha who was wistfully wishing he had someone to seek refuge behind. Vegeta smirked at this reaction and instantly interpreted Yamcha's lowly and betraying expression._

"**Don't worry! I'm not going to waste my time getting rid of you! That would be a pointless thing to do!"**_ he commented nastily, all prepared to make his exit, convinced he'd had his fun when Bulma suddenly became reckless and stepped up front with defiance. _

"**What are you saying Vegeta? That Yamcha's weak?" **_she questioned loudly, the tension in the room rising once again. Vegeta looked over at her in playful amusement, glad he had some form of entertainment to satisfy himself with for the time being._

"**Well he must be considering your defending him!"**

_Bulma balled her hands into fists as Vegeta ended the humility and began to head back to the gravity room, longing for some training to continue on since the shower wasn't exactly vacant when Yamcha stepped forward in idiotic desperation._

"**Anytime, anyplace I'll take you on Vegeta!"**_ he challenged while Bulma stomped off towards the door, demanding he do the same so that they could go to their already delayed date. _

_Ignoring her at all costs, Yamcha kept his feet firmly planted on the ground, waiting for Vegeta's first move, something he was sure would wipe him out but he was ready to punch even so, hoping to at least make some contact with his jaw._

"**Finally becoming a man?"**_ Vegeta asked in a mocking tone as Yamcha's nerves went insane with worry and tension._

"**I always was one!"**_ he proclaimed, trying to block out Bulma's orders while Vegeta scoffed mercilessly._

_Bulma, residing in a corner, rolled her eyes in exasperation over her boyfriends' careless dramatics and her house guests showing off drama. Stomping forward she grabbed his arm and forcefully began dragging him off the scene, pulling him towards the door while he tried to shove her off._

"**Get away Bulma!"**_ Yamcha demanded as Bulma whirled open the door and pushing him out on the doorstep turned to growl at Vegeta who merely shrugged and said, _**"What a man?"**

_Shaking her head in disbelief she slammed the door in his face and stomped off without any reason into the lawn of her garden, trying to avoid Yamcha who was seriously put out._

"**Really Bulma! You couldn't let me give him a piece of my mind, could you?"**

"**Yamcha, he could have easily taken 'a piece of your mind' if he had wanted, with or without permission!"**

"**Please! I could've taken him on hands down!"**

_Bulma rolled her eyes at her boyfriends ignorance, his blatant refusal to face the truth, something she would now have to cruelly shove in his face, no matter what the consequences. _

"**Yamcha, have you completely lost it? You know you're not as strong as Vegeta!"**

_Yamcha came tearing over to her side, his eyes glowing maliciously, gritting his teeth as he let out heavy breaths of frustration, as if he would dearly have like to shred her to bits at that moment._

"**Why'd you defend me if you think Vegeta's better?" **

"**Just to shut his big fat head up, it's already inflated beyond limits! Like it worked! If you hadn't butt in-"**_ Bulma snapped viciously utterly ticked off when he interrupted._

"**Butt in? Bulma, whose side are you on, me or the 'wonder prince's'?"**

"**The 'wonder prince's' Yamcha! Yours, of course"**_ she cried out in rapture at his accusation when he suddenly turned away, defeated, feeling betrayed and ever so destroyed._

"**Bulma"**_ he whispered into the night air as she strained to hear. _**"Why are you so convinced Vegeta's stronger?"**

"**Because"**_ Bulma started softly, sympathizing slightly with her boyfriends situation. _**"It's the truth. Yamcha, you will always be the better of both of you, but the fact is, Vegeta will always remain stronger…"**

_Bulma felt her heart catch in her throat after exerting this blow and when Yamcha remained silent she paled slightly but continue, though she knew it would only exert more pain on his soul._

"**Yamcha, don't make it hard on yourself! In case you've forgotten, Vegeta's not exactly human. Saiyans were a powerful race, you've seen that, so naturally, their prince would assume to have such power, maybe even more! Plus, Vegeta's been training like hell in the gravity room, another factor! He can already go Super Saiyan! Yamcha, if I had let you face him…it would have been seriously fatal…"**

_Finally ending, she gradually turned around, afraid of the hurt and rejection she would have to face. Yamcha was still, not even blinking, avoiding her gaze, twiddling his thumbs at a loss for words, all the black jets of his hair a mess from the epidemic. Bulma moved over to him, placing her hands on his shoulders and came round to face him. The timing was perfect, the mood set and she could feel the scenery engulfing them._

_She was so close; his nose was just about touching hers, her eyelids slowly drooping down, and the distance between them miniscule…_

_The front door thrashed open and Bulma immediately pulled away from Yamcha, letting her arms fall to her sides limply, upon hearing it. Vegeta came stalking out moodily, gaze erected straight ahead, deliberately not looking at them as he trudged towards the gravity chamber while Bulma held back the ferocious desire to tear a certain 'wonder' prince to shreds…_


	9. Early Morning Blues

Pride & Prejudice D

_**Pride & Prejudice **__**D.B.Z**_

_**Chapter Nine **_

Vegeta felt the burning heat scorch his bare back as his eyes were stung by a blinding white light piercing in yet he refused to withdraw and open them, wanting to remain in submission.

The banging and thrashing had been going on for quite a while now and it was testing his patience, yet his ears were still sharp and alert for he hadn't heard a single scream and this had him bemused.

The metal floor was burning his skin through, the sunlight defeating him so he quickly sat up to massage his long suffering back, sweat trailing down each and every inch of his body as he squinted, trying to adjust his gradually awakening eyesight to the morning sun.

Outside, the monstrous excuse for knocking had refused to die down, but in fact, had grown somewhat louder, causing his ears to ache substantially.

He felt groggy, his mind spinning as he tried to remember what had happened to him over night.

"**That stupid weakling was over!"** he thundered out loud before diving into his own personal thoughts where he would be free from intrusion.

"**How could she be seduced with such ease? It's weak! Poor and weak!"**

Sitting up, erect, he shook his head lightly, his hair brushing everywhere, to wake himself up and his predictions were finally satisfied for as he paced his breathing, trying to keep up with regular pace, the eruption finally occurred from outside.

"**VEGETA! I HAVE YOUR BREAKFAST!"** Bulma yelled on the top of her well accomplished lungs, banging the door with another forceful fist of fury. Vegeta rolled his eyes as he listened to her racket, amusing himself at the manic of it all, trying to find it comical in anyway possible, though it was beginning to get harder.

"**VEGETA! OPEN THIS DOOR!"**

Standing up, Vegeta clutched his side as an explosion of raw pain occurred in his there, making him stagger momentarily, nearly collapsing forward.

'**Suck it in!"** he ordered himself in a stubborn tone. **"It's probably from last night's training! Don't be weak! I will NOT be weak! I am a Saiyan Prince!"**

Outside, Bulma had grown ferociously vigorous, pounding the door with both her fists, screaming onwards with all that was within her.

"**Are you DEAD in there?"**

'**Someone will be if she doesn't shut up!"** he thought to himself viciously, his mind aching as he finally opted to open the door to the gravity room to let her in and so began limping over, wincing in pain from the injury. Reaching out he collapsed against the door to support himself, the sweat of effort forming on his forehead, dripping down his face, making him even more irritated. Gripping the door latch with one palm he pushed on it with all his force just as Bulma had lost her head of patience.

"**VEGETA! OPEN THIS DOOR YOU AS-AHHHHH!"**

Ending off with an unexpected shout, Bulma tripped in, flying across, crashing into Vegeta, who lost his balance due to fatigue and the extra personage weight and so landed with a painful crash back on the metal floor, and surely denting it. Landing on him lightly, Bulma, mistaking him for the door she had been bashing or perhaps because she needed to vent out all the stress she had and here was Vegeta, available for a brawling, balled her hands into fists and began beating him violently while he simply lay there, accepting the blows that were having no affect on him what so ever, he was to busy concentrating on the pain in his side.

"**Woman, get off me!"** he uttered after a while in a hoarse, raspy voice as she beat him alive. Hearing his order Bulma quickly got to her feet but not to let him be, she had too much of a grudge to go that easy on him. Standing over his limp, fallen defenseless body, hands crossed across her chest she glared down at him, blinking back her tears as Vegeta struggled to sit up.

"**What is your damn issue Vegeta?"** she demanded not really expecting an answer. **"What do you have against me?"**

Vegeta looked up at her, wide eyes, unable to focus, the pain was so blinding, but he managed to mutter a **"What do you mean?"** more out of pain than a general question.

"**I mean…"** Bulma ranted as she looked down. **"That for the last four months you've been a complete nightmare! You expect perfect meals and when I serve them you're too busy training and then, when you demand I make repairs to the gravity room you complain I'm not around to cook! You give me no respect and keep telling me I'm inferior when the truth is, in retrospect, I'm better than you! I try to strike a conversation, try to be nice, try to make an attempt but you just go and ignore me or insult me! And yet, despite all this, you have some prejudice against my boyfriend! What are you, jealous? You know Yamcha's weaker than you yet you provoke him! Are you trying to end our relationship? Thanks to you, last night, our date was hell! He thinks I like you! He suspects we're having an affair! That's the-"**

"**The most ridiculous thing I've ever heard!"** Vegeta ended indefinitely for his own sake, standing up suddenly, much too fast since he immediately clutched his side in excruciating pain as he fell back to the ground, regretting his rash movement instantly. Bulma noticed his weakness with much alarm and knelt down by his side, curious yet cautious and with a wary hand, brought it upon the place where Vegeta had clutched in pain, seemingly hesitant to touch an open part of him yet curious in a way. As she did he cried out loud and shifted away from her touch.

"**OH VEGETA! You're hurt!"** she exclaimed as she withdrew her hand, watching the Saiyan Prince's mixed expressions, forgetting her anger and hatred.

"**I'm fine woman!"** he retorted stubbornly but Bulma proved him wrong by merely touching his bruise with her fingertips, causing him to yell once again.

"**Fine, huh? Vegeta, were you training all night? You probably got the injury and the shock of it caused you to faint due to exhaustion!"** Bulma hypothesized as she crouched down next to him while Vegeta glowered at her from where he lay.

"**I am a Saiyan Prince! I can bear a measly bruise"** he announced as he speedily stood up and felt the blood thunder to his head as his mind went blank with white hot pain and his legs gave way. Collapsing, he landed in the prepared open arms of Bulma who had distinctively stood up as well, prepared for such an occurrence and who now couldn't take the weight and had to drag him over to the conveniently added bed on one side of the gravity room to lie him down.

"**What are you doing?"** Vegeta breathed softly as Bulma bent down to observe the seriousness of the bruise closer.

"**Just checking"** Bulma confirmed before rushing to yet another end of the room and returning with a first aid kit. Pulling out a roll of plaster for casts she sat down beside him and began to busy herself with the tricky task of winding it around Vegeta's bruised waist, bringing her arms around him to do the job, heavily protecting the injured area. Vegeta didn't help much in the process by arguing, threatening and protesting but he had nothing for a solid defense and was soon quite put out with irritancy. Bulma on the other hand had forgotten about being annoyed, she was too busy with this nursing job.

As soon as Vegeta was able to sit up, refusing any more aid from her, Bulma set up his breakfast in front of him and watched him eat in silence while she sat on the floor, legs crossed. Nothing but his fork and knife could be heard, yet, while she observed him, apparently intrigued, his own thoughts were a commotion of confusion.

'**What is she doing? She claimed bloody hatred minutes ago and now she's just staring at me! What does she want?'**

Closing his eyes he began to wonder at her temperamental nature, how fast it changed for better or for worse. He brought his hand to the bandage work, feeling it round with his fingers, noting the neatness of her handy work.

'**She does have a brilliant mind…'** he praised in his head, knowing she would never hear this. **'That useless weakling doesn't deserve her! He's pitiful!" **Vegeta refused to face the injustice of it all any further, reminding himself once again that this was not of his concern, that she was in charge of her own life.

'**This isn't affecting me!'** he told himself forcefully, blocking any image or memory that reflected Bulma in anyway. He began to feel drowsy, numb all over and the urge to lie back down was so great. Opening his eyes a fraction he saw her quietly leaving and so began to sink down to sleep…


	10. Me, Myself And I

Pride & Prejudice D

_**Pride & Prejudice **__**D.B.Z**_

_**Chapter Ten**_

_Bulma stirred the cup of steaming freshly made coffee lightly so as to keep the bubbly foam consistent before tossing the teaspoon in the sink and sipping it tentatively, feeling revived at the bursting heat._

_Coffee was what she was living on these days in order to function correctly and conduct for the three most unimpressed men in her life. Her father with his ecstatic experiments, Yamcha with their romantic relationship and the amazing 'wonder' prince and his disfavoring demands._

_The clock struck five and Bulma sighed heavily at the thought on what was coming next._

"**Time to check on Vegeta"**_ she mumbled in a depressed way as she lent forward on the counter and grabbed the bottle of pain killer pills, the one that lead to unconsciousness, shaking it out of habit before reading the prescription notice out loud to stall for time. _

"**Half a pill, children. One pill teenagers. Two pills adults"**_ Bulma read off, still at a loss. _**"Where's the tiny print on dissatisfied Saiyans, huh? I have to stuff Vegeta with at least seven pills before he stops bad mouthing me and snuffs it!"**

_Tossing the bottle about from hand to hand, she left the kitchen and strolled out the house steadily, heading for the gravity room where Vegeta was being 'hospitalized' since no one had the inhuman strength to carry him into the house, not that he had let anyone actually try and he was too weak and badly injured to mobilize himself in anyway. _

_Knocking with grace this time as opposed to earlier that morning, she let herself in, smiling over at the bed ridden Vegeta who looked positively murderous. _

"**Hey! I have your pills!"**_ she informed him cheerfully, once again shaking the pills to make him aware, which he was instantly as the fear flashed across his face and he pressed himself against the head of his bed, trying to edge as far as was possible from her in distance, though it wasn't going to do him much good.._

"**I do not need those stupid pills!"**_ he cried as Bulma rolled her eyes and came closer, closing in on her prey like some ruthless predator would, ready to launch, claws at ready._

"**Vegeta, without your pills you won't be able to sit at the dinner table Thursday night and it's already Tuesday! How do you expect to get better?"**

"**Why can't you bring me my food like always?"**_ he argued in a more suggestive tone but Bulma felt no sympathy, her own plans were at stake here._

"**Well, Vegeta, number one, I'm not your maid despite you constant fantasies on the prospect. Number two, on Thursday…there's…well…ugh…ugh…"**

"**Spit it out woman!"**

"**Oh! You-have-to-be-there-on-Thursday-because-we're-having-a-special-dinner-with-Yamcha-okay?"**_ Bulma blurted uncontrollably, not wanting to witness Vegeta's supposed 'happiness' on dinner with Yamcha._

"**WHAT?"**_ Vegeta yelled, sitting up without thinking before gritting his teeth in pain while his eyes remained wide and frozen and Bulma bit her lips as she moved over to his motionless figure, pills in hand at ready._

"**Open up"**_ she chided, waving it under his nose as if that would tempt him, which it most definitely didn't as he refused._

"**Vegeta, please!"**_ she begged but there was no response of any positive sorts. _**"Fine!"**

_With this exclamation she dropped the pills in his lap and exited briskly from the gravity room, not looking back once, she was nerved._

_Returning to her coffee a few minutes later she was furious at Vegeta's rejection towards the necessary medications to heal himself. She didn't even feel sorry for him; he was bringing this upon himself she concluded._

_Taking a gentle gulp she let the added sugary flavor stick to her tongue just as she was explicitly cursing Vegeta considerably. A half an hour later she had run her tongue dry and left her mind spinning from the vulgar language she had exposed. Feeling she should say it all to Vegeta's face to cheer herself up she gripped her third mug of coffee, she was that sleepy and headed back to the domain of the gravity room, rehearsing her lines._

_Just as she paused in front of the door, ready to knock she heard distinct voices from behind the metal formation walls, both equally the same. Curious she pressed her ear against the door, supporting herself with her free hand, still clutching the coffee mug in the other._

_She could barely distinguish Vegeta's voice from the two conversing but to her disbelief the other sounded uncannily similar, just a bit gruffer and less sickly than the present Vegeta she had been attending to lately. A conversation was heatedly progressing between them and from the likes of it, it wasn't an enjoyable one, the hatred between the two couldn't have been put amiss._

"**What threat is he to me?"**_ she managed to hear Vegeta cough before the other voice spoke up in a threatening start._

"**Once again, not physically you fool! To your bloody life!"**

_Bulma was shocked at this approach, surprised Vegeta was taking it so calmly, half expecting a mauling to start._

"**You call me the fool!"**_ Vegeta challenged._** "What is it about my life that concerns you might I ask?"**

"**It's…that woman!"**

_Bulma's senses shot up keenly, her eyes sparkling mischievously at the supposed prospect of dare she think it, a woman in the Saiyan Prince's life. _

"**What do you mean…that woman?"**

"**Do I have to spell it out for you? You know who I'm talking about! She's…your wife!"**

"**WHAT? You can't be serious!"**

"**Blame me for a decision YOU will make!"**

"**I will change this!"**

"**Try! But believe me when I say you'll fail!"**

"**You cannot be serious!"**

"**Don't you find me serious? You'll loose unless you think ahead!"**

_Silence prevailed and Bulma felt her heart in her throat, eager to hear more yet frightened of who was inside, succeeding in demeaning Vegeta's tough skinned pride._

"**What about…you know…him?"**

"**Him? I've told you what he'll do! Keep him away!"**

"**Why the hell should I care?'**

"**Because...I…you…we…love…her!"**

"**NO! NO! NO! THAT IS WEAK!"**

"**Well, then you have succumbed to weakness! Do it or you'll regret it!"**

_Bulma was tensely sweating, ready to launch in to see what on earth was going on behind the door, the oddity of it all. Despite her loathe and hatred towards him she could tell something was deeply wrong. _

_Hesitating for a while longer she was left unsure of whether the conversation was at an end or still going on, but in hushed voices and at long last she was unable to stand the suspense and with many second thoughts pushed aside she pushed on the latch and the door flew open, revealing the single Vegeta, sitting up in his bed, wide eyed, seemingly flustered, yet thoughtful, staring straight ahead of him at the blank space of air._

"**Vegeta"**_ she spoke up weakly. _**"What's going on?" **

"**Nothing. What do you want?"**_ he demanded, turning to her in a flash, brought back to his usual self so that Bulma's cheeks flushed as she felt stupidity wash over._

"**I want…what I want…"**

_Bulma struggled with her words unable to form the necessary sentences as she strolled over to his bedside, approaching him when she hit a brain storm. _

"**What I want is for you to have this!"**_ she exclaimed, falling to her knees beside his bed quickly snatching up the two pills of the counter which she had discarded carelessly in his lap earlier and stuffed them in his unprepared mouth, cupping her palm over it to stop him from spitting the pills out. With no other alternative Vegeta swallowed before trying to force Bulma away but she simply repeated the process, except with five more pills while he attempted to squirm out of her grip, unable to push her off him until he had swallowed and digested the nasty medication completely and thoroughly._

"**Woman! Are you dizzy?"**_ he wanted to know when she finally withdrew her hand and wiped it down the side of her jeans, taking in his venomous glare with much appreciation._

"**Maybe I am. But that just makes you the bigger baby, afraid of a couple of pills!" **_she teased, turning to walk out when she asked something that had hit her mind, something she'd have preferred to let slip by but in Vegeta's vulnerable position he might lighten up slightly…_

"**Vegeta"**_ she began at a loss for the correct words. _**"When I came in … before … was there someone in-"**

"**There was nobody" **_he thundered as she began to walk away backwards in surprise to his considerably suspicious rejection. Nodding in false approval she began to back away, heading for the door, so many wild emotions whipping her, masses of muddled thoughts roaming free in her mind._

'**He's in trouble'**_ she concluded thoughtfully. _**'He needs help…even if he doesn't know it'**

_Turning around once more she saw him sink back into his sheets with much effort, then cross his arms over his chest, looking unbelievably worried._

"**Vegeta"**_ she sounded off one last time and he responded with a low growl. _**"You'll fix this" **_she urged with a brief smile and a nod before quickly leaving, forgetting her coffee in the room._

_In a period of ten minutes she had collapsed on the lounge sofa in dead faint…_


	11. The Man In Pink

Pride & Prejudice D

_**Pride & Prejudice **__**D.B.Z**_

_**Chapter Eleven **_

Vegeta scowled menacingly as he picked at the uncomfortably itchy collar of the shirt he was wearing, the only one he had had on hand that Bulma would allow him to wear with the exception of the yellow Californian sunset t-shirt that Goku had bought for him a month back when he and ChiChi went on a one week holiday and that had been something he planned on blasting into oblivion just as soon as he had Bulma off his case. His current attire wasn't so bad, even if the words 'BAD MAN' were printed on the back in bold red. The only real problem he had with it was truly its colour, something Bulma was now overlooking entirely.

"**It's just PINK Vegeta!"** she told him off as she drummed the coffee table with her perfectly manicured fingers, which was surprising considering the amount of biting she did to them daily, reducing their size. They were both alone in the lounge, Vegeta in the single sofa chair he always occupied since day one and Bulma in the double seat sofa, leaning forward, impatient for Yamcha's arrival. Her parents were still upstairs taking forever to get ready so Vegeta remained in his awkward position, not finding the silent atmosphere to his liking.

Ever since that future version of him had high jacked a time capsule by some unknown means and came back to see him to fix the issue he, Vegeta, had been a wreck. His future self had basically asked him to break Bulma and Yamcha up because Bulma was supposedly meant to be his wife.

'**For something as pitiful as love'** Vegeta thought snidely when he suddenly remembered why else he had to break them up. The reason was bizarre and foul play, yet he knew Bulma would never believe him.

'**She can take care of herself! She doesn't need me to protect her…'**

Unclasping his hands he began to observe her intently, trying to make sense of their destined connection. She had brushed and combed her afro fairly and was in a black dress collared at the top, coming down to just above her knees with a silver belt around her waist.

Vegeta noticed how her eyes blinked very rapidly, taking in the surrounding scenery, how her eyebrows formed her unique expressions, anger, shock, humor, surprise, confusion, sadness, every emotion he suddenly remembered. The way she moved herself gracefully the way she walked, the way she talked, it didn't attract him or appeal to him in anyway but her presence was significant somehow.

Tearing away his gaze to escape the mix of emotions he began to sub-consciously pull at his collar once again to Bulma's unfailing irritation.

"**IT'S JUST PINK VEGETA! GET OVER IT!"** she shouted as his eyes widened for he hadn't been paying much attention and hadn't suspected such uproar. Nevertheless, he was completely prepared for an ensuing argument.

"**Why can't I wear my uniform?"** he demanded once again.

"**You mean your blue spandex outfit? No way! I want you to look at least remotely normal for dinner tonight!"**

"**And so I'm wearing pink?"**

"**You didn't want me to iron out the shirt Goku got you! Is that my fault?"**

"**You're feminizing me woman!"**

Vegeta growled as Bulma tried to stifle back an escaping giggle in response to his final comment. Ignoring this tormenting factor he pulled his gaze over to the front door in dread just as a deep knocking came.

"**Yamcha's here!"** Bulma screamed, abandoning the sofa and bolting towards the door while Vegeta merely leaned back, preparing himself for the oncoming nightmarish events he had by some strange trance agreed to submit to.

Bulma swept the door open and before Yamcha could even breathe planted a passionate kiss on his lips while Vegeta pretended to puke in the background.

'**Hey Bulma"** he managed to utter when she pulled apart, dazed as he handed her the bouquet of roses he'd brought.

"**They're beautiful!"** Bulma exclaimed in euphoric hysteria as she sniffed them deeply with delight. **"Look Vegeta! Aren't they just beautiful?"** she asked, completely unaware of who Vegeta was at that moment, something he disapproved of immediately but his displeasures were already fulfilled to extremes as Yamcha entered the lounge and upon seeing Vegeta his eyes flickered dangerously and Vegeta saw all the evil harbored in himself reflected in those eyes.

Bulma gracefully entered behind him, oblivious to any sinister eye contact, carrying a curved glass vase in which she had delicately arranged the roses in, which she placed gently on the coffee table.

"**I'll go upstairs and call my parents down!"** she informed the both of them, turning to climb the stairs and as she did she mouthed a few simple words behind Yamcha's back for Vegeta sake: **PLAY NICE…**

As soon as she had disappeared Yamcha came over to sit across from Vegeta, smiling a weak grin, trying to start over from their rocky episode the other day.

"**Ugh…nice shirt"** he voiced, ignoring the cruel irony that had settled about. Vegeta simply growled under his breath, unbelievably tense.

"**You like pink?"** Yamcha continued and Vegeta looked up so quickly at this that Yamcha felt his throat tighten up, disgusted by his failing effort to make small talk. Just then Bulma came skipping down, dragging a disgruntled Dr. Briefs behind her and out of no where an ecstatic Bunny swooped on Yamcha, wrapping her arms chokingly around his neck, planting a kiss on each of his scarred cheeks while Vegeta smirked over at him from his far away position, glad that for once he wasn't Mrs. Brief's focused squeeze, rather, at that moment she might even have been his favorite person. Bulma watched a bit anxiously as Bunny refused to withdraw her captive from her embrace and finally Dr. Briefs had to step in.

"**Bunny…let the boy go. You already have enough restraining orders against you"** he muttered as Bulma placed her hands on her mothers shoulders to lead her to the dining room and with not much option, Vegeta followed, desperate to get something to eat and then make a quick escape.

It was of poor co-ordination that had him seated opposite Yamcha and next to Bunny who was so thoroughly pleased with the arrangement and made a point of expressing her pleasure openly.

"**Oh Vegeta, I never thought I'd be seated with royalty someday-more mashed potatoes?-You are such a darling! One girl out there will be very lucky one day-gravy?-Too bad I'm married dear"** she giggled while Vegeta steamed over his boiled chicken, sure his cheeks were now a delicate crimson, avoiding all eye contact, especially with Dr. Briefs.

'**Despite all the crimes, the murders, the wrong-doings, the evil, do I really deserve THIS?'** he thought to himself as he pushed away his vegetables to one side, wanting to hide away in his bedroom for the rest of the night but he knew very well that Bulma would blow a fuse right there and then if he even thought about attempting to creep out.

Bending over for a while he finally raised his head because his neck was aching so badly and his eyes met with Bulma's as she mischievously grinned.

"**You know Mom"** Bulma began, attracting everyone's attention. **"Vegeta already has a lucky girl!"**

Vegeta dropped his fork with a loud clatter, eyes widened with fury but Bulma continued.

"**Remember your injury from Tuesday Vegeta? Well, Vegeta was lying in the gravity room and I could hear him talking to someone. I heard some mention of a woman…definitely a woman and unless I'm mistaken…love?"**

What she was gaining from this form of torture towards him he could not understand, only that she was enjoying herself and she wasn't about to stop.

"**And then…I went in and Vegeta just happened to be alone!"**

Yamcha looked up abruptly, his own face fuming for another reason he did not hope to analyze. His own anger was showing from the light shaking he was causing as the table began to vibrate slightly and miniature cracks began to design the walls. The Briefs were used to this as Vegeta's anger was a common household jeopardy and continued with their dinner but Yamcha continued to pierce Vegeta with his glare.

"**Who?"** he mouthed smugly, irritating Vegeta so much that he pushed out of his chair violently, stood up thunderstruck and charged out of the room at the fastest pace he could gather, giving Yamcha all he needed to know.

Soon enough the shaking stopped…


	12. Broken Up Pancakes

Pride & Prejudice D

_**Pride & Prejudice **__**D.B.Z**_

_**Chapter Twelve**_

_Bulma woke up with a start feeling so very groggy and absorbed in dizziness as she tried to forget the restless night she had suffered in payment for tormenting the one and only Prince of Saiyans_

_She hadn't meant to but then again, it had been purely intentional in all aspects._

"**I mean, I didn't want him to get SO upset!"**_ she said aloud to herself and her bedroom as she fumbled with her bed sheets aimlessly, trying to think straight. _**"I didn't think he'd be such a drama queen about it! It's not like he said it was a secret! On the other hand, I probably humiliated him and with his pride..."**

_Smacking her forehead vehemently she motioned her body into action and stumbled out of bed in a mess of gigantic physical appearance proportion before rising to her feet as her stomach erupted in starvation gurgles, but her mind was intently focused on Vegeta, she couldn't have cared less of her hunger issues._

"**He did deserve it! I mean he's so annoying! So demanding! So irritating! So proud! So bossy! He had Yamcha so ticked and for no reason what so ever!"**

_Convincing herself the way she always did she left her room with complete confidence and noticed Vegeta's door was open, just a crack, as if intentionally._

_Against her better judgment she peeped in to see his body sprawled face upwards clad in his Saiyan armor. He seemed deathly restless, was mumbling and panicking in his trembling sleep, his dreams being intruded and disturbed into a nightmarish form she could tell, with that entire great mass of dark hair extending and blowing with the wind coming from the strangely open window, a worried frown displayed on his face as the worry became clear and vibrant in his expression. Feeling thoroughly guilty at this scene Bulma sulked off to the kitchen and leaned on the counter, pouting as she thought about how she suddenly felt sorry for Vegeta._

"**What's wrong darling?"**

_Bulma looked up hesitantly to make slight eye contact with her father, an early riser who had just been programming some odd machine of such sorts in his lab. Bulma knew her trustworthy father would have a solution to her guilt trip but how was she to commute the problem to him? It wasn't that easy to slip._

"**Dad? What if you've done something really mean to someone and you want to…apologize…but that 'someone' wont accept?" **

_Dr. Briefs listened to this cover up thoughtfully and answered with sincere understanding._

"**Naturally Bulma, Vegeta will never accept a mere apology. It's not in his nat-"**

"**DAD!"**_ Bulma exclaimed in horror, sitting up defensively. _**"How do you I was talking about Vegeta?"**

_Dr. Briefs chuckled with a _**"Now that confirms my suspicions!"**_ while Bulma swore under her breath at how she was so easily doped by her father who leaned forward to speak to her gently._

"**You know Bulma, you should play favorites!"**_ he advised and when she gave him a dumbfounded expression he elaborated further. _**"Even Vegeta must be fond of something. And he isn't immune to emotion, let me tell you. You may think he's hard headed but even he has feelings. Let him know you care"**

_Smiling a grin of obvious reminiscence he patted her on the back and left the kitchen back to his lab in a possible daze leaving Bulma to dive into profound thinking but many thoughtful minutes later she was still confused and despairing on the idea._

"**I don't know anything about Vegeta!"**

_Skimming through possibilities such as colour, flower, number, car, day, season, television show, movie, book and even hobby, she was left with all rejected since either she didn't know them or they just didn't make any logical sense. As if things weren't already tilting downhill her stomach was whining for much needed attention, something she was finding extremely nerving to ignore._

"**Would you shut up?"**_ she screamed at it. _**"I'm trying to think of Vegeta's favorites!"**

_It was only after this proclamation that realization dawned on her and she snapped her fingers in long awaited triumph. It wouldn't prove to be difficult since she knew quite well what Vegeta's favorite food was because no matter how hard he tried to keep it a secret it was quite clear by the amount of pancakes he consumed in one sitting, a fair four dozen, what his favorite food was. Delighted at her by far spectacular idea she set to the tedious work of magically producing forty eight pancakes, roughly creating a tilting stack, piled high with fat inducing maple syrup. By the end of it there were only forty but Bulma highly doubted Vegeta would miss the remaining eight and so began to stagger down the hallway, balancing the breakfast platter with accomplished equality of composure when the phone rang._

_Backing up and placing the fork and knife she'd brought along on the tiny table under the phone she picked it up and promptly began with a _**"Capsule Corporation-Bulma Briefs speaking-May I help-ChiChi?"**

_Bulma sank to the ground, pancakes in hand as she heard the sobs of her best friend breakout on the other line._

"**Bulma! It's horrible!"**_ she cried in between sniffles as Bulma, who's stomach had gone rabid, took the fork and began tenderly slicing off a small portion, assuming Vegeta wouldn't care to miss the miniscule portion she would be nibbling._

"**What happened ChiChi?"**_ she mumbled in between mouthfuls, probably expecting something such as a floral dress issue or food related blow up and got quite a shock._

"**Goku…he…he…BROKE UP WITH ME!!"**

"**WHAT??"**_ Bulma shrieked, anticipated as she sat up, taking yet another bite for good measure. _**"THAT CAN'T BE!"**

'**Well, it IS! He broke up with me just NOW! I think I might just die, I-" **

_A fresh batch of tears prevented ChiChi from going on any further as Bulma's mind numbed._

'**Goku and ChiChi-NO MORE? But…that's so wrong! How? Why? Oh! I knew something like this was going to happen…I knew it!!...but so soon!'**

"**ChiChi! Maybe you're taking this out of context…what exactly happened?"**

_Bulma heard ChiChi blow her nose, weep a bit more and cough in splutters before re-voicing._

"**I really don't know Bulma-really truly! Things were going perfectly and I really thought that it would stay like that…forever…but…but…OH BULMA! I CAN NEVER DO ANYTHING RIGHT! THERE MUST BE SOMETHING WRONG WITH ME! SOMETHING MISSING!"**

"**ChiChi, calm down! Focus"**_ Bulma encouraged worriedly and desperately, taking another bite out of the breakfast she had made. _**"How did this happen?"**

"**Well…last night…really late…Goku went out and came back around 6:00 am, which isn't normal for him, you know! He told me he needed to meet Vegeta about something and I just assumed they'd been sparring since he was seriously cut up and bruised…I'd never assumed they were actually having a serious brawl…I mean…even if there is a bit of…difference they're still friends…right?. So…anyway, he just came home and immediately went to bed without another word. About…half hour ago he came down with all his things…tied up in a handkerchief knapsack…and I knew something was wrong. Especially at breakfast when it got serious when he…he…he…"**

"**What ChiChi? WHAT?"**

"**He…he…oh Bulma! He rejected WAFFLES!"**

"**WHAT?? NO! HOW? HOW? WHAT DID HE SAY?"**

"**That…that it was over! He said…we couldn't be…together…that Vegeta had been…right…that after Vegeta's training they would both …leave … Bulma! He said something to Goku! I just know it! Last night! HE did this! I…I…Oh Bulma! I have to go!"**

_Breaking off crying, Bulma heard the familiar click of the call end as ChiChi wept away into her hands soullessly. Still trying to understand what she had just heard she gathered herself up, clutching the slightly eaten through pancakes tightly as her heart began to swell u, first with wallowing grief and the slowly into a transforming animosity, with pure anger. _

_Not wasting a breathing second, charging up the stairs, stomping down the landing with fuming turmoil grounding inside her, with one minded determination she began ramming Vegeta's bedroom door, not caring if she broke it off it's hinges, not stopping once in her thunderous banging until he finally pulled it open, looking positively put off and exhausted at seeing her. _

_His Saiyan armor, the one he had fallen asleep in, had been clearly dented, battered and broken. He was murderously bruised and banged up, his face cut in several places with a slash above his eyebrow, trickling a stream of glowing crimson blood down the side of his face, past his cheek, heavy bags circled under his eyes from lack of sleep._

'**He said something to Goku! I just know it! Last night! HE did this!'**

_ChiChi's accusations ran free through Bulma's mind, testing her beliefs on the situation._

_Without a seconds thought Bulma smashed the entire plate of pancakes in his face…_


	13. Truths And Reasons

_**Pride & Prejudice **__**D.B.Z**_

_**Chapter Thirteen**_

Vegeta splashed his face vigorously once again with cool running water before tightly turning the faucet to a close and reaching out for the hand towel on the rack to rub his face dry of water droplets. That unexpected contact with the plate of pancakes directly to his face, despite the force it had been hurled at, hadn't hurt in the least. It had, however, resulted in him getting very sticky from excess of maple syrup, thus resulting in him having to bury his head under the tempest of a running tap until he was free of the nasty consistency.

Chucking the towel into the sink he charged out of the bathroom menacingly, hair dropping behind him, still soaking clear away, water trailing down his neck, gliding down his back making him feel slightly shivery but he did his best to ignore it as he attempted to seek refuge in his bedroom only to meet Bulma, blocking his door, looking murderous.

"**Vegeta…you…you…YOU!"** she screamed as Vegeta tried to understand this dumbfounded reaction of repetition.

"**How could you?"** she accused as he listed all the things he could have possibly done to cause this rapture within her. It was infinite.

"**You just want everything to go your way! We, all of us, don't matter to you in the least! You don't care whose relationship you end, whose life you crash up or whose feelings you hurt! Well, I have news for you Prince Charming! We aren't robots, much less your pawns! I don't care whether you blow us all into oblivion! I refuse to bow down to your majesty!"**

Stopping to catch her breath, she began exhaling as Vegeta scowled with hunger, realizing food was long off unless he wanted to scavenge for pancakes that scattered the floor numerously, their aroma so inviting, yet he resisted.

"**Do you even get where I'm coming from?"** Bulma snapped, directing Vegeta's attention back to her. **"Or are you, as always, completely clueless!"**

Turning away from him she strode into his bedroom without thought and he followed her in, found her pacing about, trying to gather up loose ends of the confrontation. Closing the door with accomplished silence he came closer, waiting for her to begin her rain of torrent.

"**Vegeta, since you came here we have fought non stop without fail but somehow…somehow we always got through! But now…now you've completely messed things up with your injustice! You've ruined a beautiful relationship and destroyed my best friend's chance at happiness as well as Goku's. Even after igniting that opportunity you also ruined mine! Yamcha won't speak to me because of you! He was so mad last night he just stomped off without explanation after your show! Thanks a lot for that! But, before I'm truly satisfied I have to ask, why do you want to break Yamcha and myself up, why did you get pounded by Goku last night as well injuring him back and WHY did you convince Goku to end his relationship with ChiChi? Answer me!"**

She was straight up in his face now, so close their noses were just touching and he could feel all that anger from inside her extending out in radiations, batting him considerably. He wasn't sure how to explain, how to even form the words, how to perhaps open his mouth and make the sounds. For the first time in his life he was at a complete loss and her closeness wasn't helping much either, was in fact blurring and numbing his mind until it felt like it may explode, a sensation he had never experienced.

She was blinking more speedily than ever, demanding an answer if her clawing her hands into the skin of his shoulders was any indication he could follow by.

"**Vegeta, the least you owe me is an explanation!"** she breathed in annoyance as Vegeta continued to remain utterly speechless.

'**I need to think! How can she, a mere human, have such an effect on me? How? It's not possible'**

Swallowing his nerves he plunged into a speedy explanation.

"**You don't understand…about any of this…I'll start with Kakarot…we Saiyans were built a powerful and overruling race, a species built to be superior despite your** **controversial opinions on the difficult matter. It is within our blood to have a thirst for power and increasing power at that. It is our nature, a force we cannot object to and thus we train to fulfill this desire. That was our purpose of traveling to the mountainous areas, to object to difficult and steady tactics and fighting skills. Kakarot and I went through brutal training through harsh conditions to strengthen our power. Craving human necessities is a weakness and when Kakarot showed this weakness I was alerted for he has the potential and power and to loose it would be a pathetic waste. We traveled here to the city so that Kakarot would be able to satisfy his pleasures on the condition that we would continue training as planned. But then…that woman** **came! Kakarot completely forgot about training, that woman was blinding him…bringing him down…making him weaker…and his sentimental feelings towards her went against Saiyan beliefs…a Saiyan and a human! It was an outrage! I couldn't stand by and let it happen! I, the Prince of Saiyans was obliged to bring a stop to it! You may not understand why this means so much but I never expected you or anybody else to see. Kakarot agreed to meet me last night where I told him all of this, told him he was becoming a weakling, a pathetic human in himself. I told him to leave her as soon as possible or he would waste himself. He became angry. Even Kakarot looses control. He was strangely violent! He fought with such blinded rage…the power he showed was amazing…and it couldn't be lost! In the end he agreed…to protect her from his power and to protect himself…the smartest thing he's ever done if you ask me!"**

Vegeta looked down at Bulma shortly with more ease as he had pulled quite a distance away from her grip and as he did, noticed her blink back a few tears before quickly wiping them with the back of her hand in determined despair.

"**Vegeta, we both know you did this for you!"** she fumed. **"What you did was in no way selfless!"**

"**Maybe it was, maybe it wasn't! It's none of your concern!"** he retorted venomously, trying to ignore the suffering inner pain he had simultaneously succumbed to since that day in the gravity room.

"**I swear Vegeta, I curse the day I met you!"** Bulma shrieked, pin-pointing the very needle that would have been better left untouched. Vegeta glowered, remaining as calm as possible when what he really wanted to do was to rave hell on everyone and everything on the damned planet he was being held prisoner in. Instead he simply paused to regain breathing control before speaking up again, tying to make his voice straight instead of faltering.

"**That's not a very nice thing to say to someone whose only been looking out for your best interests despite his intentions, which honestly felt better than this bullshit!"** he blurted out uncontrollably as Bulma rounded on him.

"**What on earth are you talking about?"**

"**I'm talking about you going out with that idiot when he's clearly using you"** Vegeta continued unwillingly. **"Why do you think I'm so desperate to separate you two? You don't think I enjoy these petty arguments, do you? I despise them considerably but up till recently priorities have changed. My future self…a future version of me…came back in time to tell me…to warn me of what that idiotic excuse for a man would do to you and how I have to stop it from happening!"**

"**Vegeta, what do you mean? What you're saying sounds insane!"**

"**You will be forced…he wants it but you're not ready…and you go through a most painful experience to escape and are left as a changed person, something not before, untrusting of everyone simply because of his abuse"**

Vegeta clenched his fists and closed his eyes tightly as he recalled how his future self had relayed this to him, how he had scoffed and then claimed he wouldn't care in the least if this were to happen. How very wrong he had been?

Though he did not care for her, wasn't in anyway sentimental over her, he still felt he needed to protect her, from this danger at least.

He had, in his out pour turned away from her and now he turned back to face the reaction, which was naturally disbelief, something he had prepared himself for.

"**That's a load of crap Vegeta and you know it! How could you even think Yamcha would do that to me? It's mad! You, I think, have lost it entirely and I'm getting sick of it!"** she reacted snidely before striding past him, placing her hand on the doorknob softly, hurt ebbing inside her.

"**How could you Vegeta?"** she wondered aloud causing his ears to perk up. **"I thought you had changed…even if it was just a little I had hoped…"**

Closing the door behind her, Vegeta heard Bulma lock herself in her own bedroom, and he himself sat down on his bed after briefly kicking it, facing the window with his ears ringing tremendously.

"**I tried and failed and now it shouldn't matter to me what happens!"** he tried to convince himself but his words immediately hit him back. **"She should suffer for not believing me! She deserves it!"**

Randomly he trailed his hands under his armor to his waist where he felt the papery weight of the bandages she had applied, trailing along the netting, remembering who had been the one to wind it around him and his cheeks burnt intensely.

"**But…I can't let it happen! How dare she? What right does a simple human woman have to make me, the Prince of all Saiyans, feel this way? It's wrong!"**

Standing up he walked over to the window and felt his insides burn when he saw Yamcha strolling down the pathway to the Capsule Corporation, carrying yet another one of his infamous bouquets…


	14. A Fainting Notion

Pride & Prejudice D

_**Pride & Prejudice **__**D.B.Z**_

_**Chapter Fourteen**_

_Bulma sat with her arm coming around ChiChi, consoling her stuttering figure as she discarded one of many used tissue boxes, trying to waste all her tears and fistful sessions on weeping over her loss concerning Goku. _

_Bulma, who had just two hours ago felt like committing suicide after that argument with Vegeta, was in much brighter spirits, despite the light headedness she was suffering from. Soon after she had left Vegeta, her mind spinning uncontrollably, Yamcha had shown up at her doorstep with a bouquet of blooming tuberoses, apologizing for his rash behavior at that disastrous dinner the previous night and before she could even breath in delight Yamcha gave her a softly planted kiss, quickly telling her to be ready by 9:00 for a date with him and Italian cuisine. It was only after he had left her dazed on the doorstep that Bulma paused to consider the possibilities of Vegeta's ridiculous predictions._

_Thoughts of unfamiliar street corners, being knocked out and knocked up and unwanted pregnancies began to haunt her before she waved them away with a shake of her head as her blue curls bounced around her head. She was being childishly silly, she told herself, Yamcha would of course never do that to her. According to her, Vegeta was once again being, by all means, a jerk and he wasn't about to change his ways, no matter how much she felt he had reformed. _

_Handing over ChiChi a new carton of tissues to sob through her eyes wavered over to the hanging clock which had been hooked up on the wall for as long as she could remember. ChiChi had been there at a maximum of about an hour and already had tired herself and Bulma to a point of thorough exhaustion, yet her waterworks ceased to dry up successfully, she was constantly forcing herself to pour her heartbreak out as much as possible before it completely destroyed her from inside._

"**ChiChi"**_ Bulma began, yawning but trying to stifle it back as much as possible; this was after all a traumatic experience for her best friend to endure. _**"Please stop crying"**

"**Oh Bulma! I just can't! It's too painful!"**_ ChiChi sobbed, blowing her nose and then dabbing her eyes with the back of her hand. Rolling her eyes beyond points of extremes Bulma began to repetitively resume patting ChiChi's back, fatigue consuming her until the thirst to strive on coffee became mandatory._

_Assuring ChiChi she would return with a mug for her she escaped into the kitchen and, closing the door carefully she leant against it and let out a long sigh of relief, feeling her head spin, before she realized she wasn't alone in the kitchen._

"**When does she plan on stopping that infernal weeping?"**

_There was Vegeta, filling a glass with bubbling crystal clear water, wearing once again only his track shorts with socks and trainers, and Bulma only had daggers for him, disbelieving of his insensitive comment._

"**She wouldn't need to do any infernal weeping if it wasn't for SOMEBODY I could mention"**_ she answered shortly wondering at the Saiyan Prince's disturbing attitude._

'**How does he manage to appear in such inconvenient places?'**_ she mused to herself as she watched him resume to filling the glass before lifting it to his lips, refusing to make eye contact with her, or even look her way. _**'Corner me at the most impromptu of time! And without a shirt! Why does he have to have such fine toned muscles?'**

_Shaking her head, wondering if she had possibly just lost her mind to ask herself such a question, massaging her pulsating temples she began to operate around the kitchen, doing her best to ignore him and stay out of his way, acting as if she was unaware of his presence while at the same time attempting to stay conscious for she was on the limited verge of passing out._

_As the coffee boiled she raised herself on the counter, her legs had gone strangely limp, and leaned her head back against a cabinet, closing her eyes, her lids had grown so very heavy. Her heartbeat didn't feel very right, her pulsations raging, and her blood pressure rising tremendously._

'**Is this what it feels like to pass out?'**_ she wondered as she licked her dry lips, feeling ice cold skin as she trembled feverishly._

'**Got to ask Goku…he's fainted before…he'd know'**

_Her mind in itself also felt somewhat weaker, being sucked of all energy, as if she were literally dying. With her eyes still closed she clasped her head, thoughts flashing through her mind. _

'**If I fall…when I fall…who'll catch me?'**

_The question rang in her mind and she dreaded the answer so very much that she hopped off the counter in hopes of simply leaving the room and preventing herself fainting when instead she confirmed the chances. Dizzy without doubt she knew what was coming when she suddenly lost all visual sight and then felt the cool breeze whip through her and finally the warmth flood through her, not the solid, hard floor come in contact. _

_Oblivious to the happenings of the real world Bulma was finally permissible to sink ...into her thoughts, the complex trivialities that haunted her…_

'**Can I really trust Vegeta? About Yamcha? Can I? Can I believe him? Do I? Do I believe Vegeta? Of course not! That's mad…but…do I believe Vegeta would ever protect me? Do I believe Yamcha would ever hurt me? What if it's the truth? That means…Yamcha's cheating on me…and he'll…No! No! Yamcha would…will…never do that…He couldn't! Can't!'**

_Her eyes began to sting as the blinding white light pierced through her lids and she felt her muscles begin to relax soothingly. Her breath came back to her and she could hear voices growing. It was all an unrecognizable blur at first but then she focused on the centre point and ChiChi's face started to appear, concern and panic all over. Then the second person became visible, Vegeta's completely exasperated expression easily understood. As she gazed around she suddenly felt the sudden shock of realization that she wasn't particularly lying on anything and it took her some time to figure out that she was flying at all, in fact, Vegeta was holding her, his muscular arms keeping her up as her head leant against his chest, enabling her to hear his heart reverberate abnormally fast. _

"**What…what happened?**_" she asked lightly, as she sat up in Vegeta's surprisingly warm clutches, gazing around the hallway in wonderment, not being able to remember a thing._

"**You fainted"**_ ChiChi stated the obvious as she felt Bulma's forehead, biting her lips as she attempted a temperature search and found nothing._

"**You feel fine…it was probably just stress…good thing Vegeta caught you or you would have suffered from a concussion!"**

_Both pairs of critical feminine eyes set upon Vegeta who was clearly uncomfortable with the entire situation and was desperately trying to avoid anyone's eye contact by gazing up at the ceiling._

"**Thank you Vegeta"**_ Bulma sounded out honestly in a weak voice so that Vegeta colored slightly, to Bulma's amusement and he flushed even deeper when he muttered a low _**"You're welcome"**

"**Can you stand?"**_ ChiChi inquired, oblivious of Vegeta's many facial shades, as she kept her eyes on Bulma who nodded, unsure. Slowly she let her legs slip down as Vegeta loosened in on his grip until she was standing quite steadily with only a hand rested on Vegeta's arm to support herself in case she gave way once again. _

"**Bulma…what have you had since morning?"**_ ChiChi demanded while Bulma merely enjoyed the full view of the suddenly seemingly attractive Saiyan Prince._

"**Huh? Oh…three mugs of coffee and a few bites out of Vegeta's stack of pancakes, which I later threw in his face…"**_ she recited, dazed, while ChiChi gave Vegeta an awkward look that he desperately tried to avoid at all costs by simply looking off in other directions._

"**Okay…how about yesterday?"**

"**I think a bowl of cereal for breakfast, six mugs of coffee…and for dinner, a bit of salad…why?"**

"**Why?" **_ChiChi gaped in horror, ready to whack something, or somebody, around to teach them a lesson or two. _**"You, Bulma, of all people should know! Your diet is awful! It basically comprises of coffee! It'll kill you!"**

"**I know ChiChi but I haven't got time for any thing else! I'm so busy!"**

"**Look, I… I smell some smoke coming from the kitchen?…probably the coffee, right?… okay…I'll go fix that…and then…we'll talk"**_ ChiChi ended before bustling back into the kitchen hurriedly, leaving Bulma quite confused as she held onto Vegeta subconsciously while he struggled to handle the situation._

"**If you're so tired"**_ he began out of no where but loathing the silence he decided conversation was better, _**"why don't you sleep?"**

"**It's not that simple Vegeta"**_ she breathed heavily as she faced him, against her wishes since at that moment she wasn't sure whether she wanted to look at him. "_**Sleep won't do everything. I have to have peace at mind…"**

"**That sounds easy…" **_he hypothesized, but with an unfamiliar tone, a more gentle voice Bulma had never heard before._

"**It might be…"**_ she muttered, the words simply pouring out even though she didn't want them to. _**"If I had help…" **

_As these words slipped out she felt Vegeta tense under her palm, his skin went icy, frozen. The expression on his face was frustrated, concentrated and Bulma knew he was trying to cut her off, break away the faint connection they had made, even if for a few brief seconds. The pleasure of the invisible contact ran through her blood stream, tingling alive every sense, poisoning her mind with sudden desires she knew she shouldn't want but most definitely needed._

_Walking past her swiftly, Vegeta fled the room, jogging up the stairs. Blinking speedily, she tried to understand what exactly had happened, what had just occurred. Staring down at the hand that had only a second ago been touching Vegeta's bare skin she felt warmth flood her cheeks at the thought of what she might possibly have done had Vegeta stayed even a moment longer, the temptation of the scenario had been so seductive she couldn't stop her desires from going frantic and the longing to intensely multiply._

_She loved the sensation with every fiber of her body, yet hated it all over…_


	15. Mission Impossible

Pride & Prejudice D

_**Pride & Prejudice **__**D.B.Z**_

_**Chapter Fifteen **_

Vegeta glanced down side ways at the side table clock and growled long and loud at the 8:50 indicated by the plastic hands and the minute ticking accompanying it.

"**Nine! That idiot's coming for his date and she accepted! Is she mad?"**

He was sitting anxiously on the edge of his bed, a damp towel yet again hanging around his neck, his wet hair dripping continuously down his back from his early shower as he kept his gaze locked firmly outside his window yet again on the gravel path that rounded its way in twirls and random curves up to the main entrance of the Capsule Corporation Complex, decked with all sorts of Mrs. Briefs favorite flowers and such on the sides that Vegeta despised walking near.

He had made up his mind and though it probably wasn't the best idea he really felt he had no other option in the matter.

"**I can't believe I've stooped this low! To follow to lowly lovers just to protect her! Why should I?"**

Yet, despite the reluctance to accept, he knew 'why', had felt 'why' erupt within him when she had done her best to pretend he hadn't existed, given him the off set of her cold shoulder that he admired the quality of struggle and determination in her, had felt 'why' flow through his veins when she had collapsed so lightly in his ready arms, emitting fear in him that she had finally slipped away, had felt 'why' beat with his ramming heart as she had awoken, gazing up at him in such blissful confusion, had felt 'why' burn in the spot on his arm where her hand had been, touching him so very softly, extending an alien need, extracting a hidden desire, something he really didn't want.

"**This is all so infuriating! What is it about her that won't leave me? It's maddening!"**

He couldn't pin point what it was though; wherever he went her sense, her presence, trailed after him, fogging his concentration. Training in the gravity room he thought of her, rummaging for food in the kitchen she came to mind, in the privacy of the shower he remembered her, lying in bed, wide awake, he wondered about her, she was such a curious mystery.

Rubbing the back of his neck tensely he saw, coming down the walkway in all his glory and confidence for the second time that day, past Vegeta's patience, Yamcha. The rage boiled under his skin, a ferocious malicious and beastly feeling but he didn't have time to dwell on his personal feelings, instead he had to hurriedly pull on a black shirt and tighten the laces on his trainers, cursing the entire plot as he went ahead.

He heard Bulma rush down the stairs and seconds later the door had flung open and Yamcha stepped into the premises, alerting Vegeta.

Moving away from the window he mentally went over the scheme he had conducted when a deep knocking interrupted his thoughts and Bulma stepped in solemnly.

"**Vegeta? Are you alright?"** she asked, trying not to sound much to considerate, she still had a burning fire of hatred towards him for his earlier actions yet had seemingly softened after her episode of unconsciousness. Stepping in the room, but only a fraction as she, she leaned against the wall just as Vegeta questioned her right back.

"**What do you want woman?"**

"**My parents are at a dinner Vegeta and…I'm going out to so I just want you to know I've left dinner for you in the microwave…goodnight"** Her voice trailed off as she disappeared behind the door which silently shut and he heard her footsteps work their way down the stairs while his mind spun effortlessly.

It took a few gradual minutes but soon enough Bulma had gotten in the car with Yamcha and taking this as his cue Vegeta threw open his bedroom windows and flew out at a reasonable height so that he could see everything, yet nobody saw him in the least. The plan was to follow them continuously and without fail on each and every date until Yamcha became somewhat forceful towards Bulma and on that occasion Vegeta planned to seriously injure the man everywhere possibly just for the fun of it.

The engine of Yamcha's car had burst alive and Vegeta became alert and broke into slow flight, following the speeding convertible with unpredicted dread and concern.

"**How could I do this?"** he wondered as he battled against the forceful wind, on the verge of breaking out but he held back any destructive urge with self control and proceeded with the ongoing chase at hand.

"**She better appreciate this, even if it's not for her! I'm doing this just to give that weakling a peace of my mind!"**

Convincing himself Bulma was merely a distraction in the set up he charged up further and continued, in pursuit of the vehicle until it finally came to a halt, parallel parking outside an expensive Italian restaurant swiftly.

The duo got out and disappeared within, laughing and joking, seeming perfectly happy, leaving Vegeta hovering above, his stomach clenching with abnormal hunger but he fought the weakness and sunk down to reside in a nearby pine tree. Getting as comfortable as possible amongst the prickling branches and forever pinching and poking leaves he puzzled over the time but without a watch it was impossible to tell as so he waited…and waited…and waited…

It seemed as if years had come and gone when the couple finally emerged, hand in hand, happily conversing as they slipped into the automobile as Vegeta stretched his body alive and prepared for the flight, his stomach whining for attention as the journey back to the Capsule Corporation started.

To his dismay, they got caught in a serious traffic jam and this about ended Vegeta's limited patience as he sent shockwave tremors below him before realizing the negative attention he was attracting and rose up higher to hide behind a thicket of clouds.

"**Why can't they simply end it themselves?"** he fumed angrily. **"Why must I be foolishly led on this ridiculous chase? I'm NOT her watch dog!!"**

As the honking resumed rhythemically he assumed the traffic was in flow again and so flew straight ahead, tailing the car, relieved that the route led back to the Capsule Corporation and not another romantic location for he wasn't sure how much more of this he could endure before revealing himself to the two of them.

As they approached Vegeta caught sight of the open windows he had left behind and realized with sudden overcoming panic that Bulma would most definitely notice he had been out if she saw them and so raced Yamcha's car, thrilled he made it first as he dove into his bedroom, landing head first so that he lay upside down on the floor with his body bent over, neck in an odd crick position while he swore rudely to the emptiness of his room. Getting to his twisted feet as fast as possible and shaking himself off he didn't waste a second as he slammed the windows shut, trapping the curtains in between by accident before making a speedy detour to the kitchen in hopes of eating down something.

Whipping the microwave door open he successfully managed to pull it right off its hinges and so trashed it in the garbage disposal before snatching up the plate of fish and chips that awaited him and climbing up the stairs, less worked up, locked himself in his room at long last.

Strolling over to the window he let out an exasperated sigh as he saw Bulma and Yamcha slowly make their pacing way to the front door even after all his delays and he had wolfed down the entire contents of his plate by the time they had finally got to that point.

Rolling his eyes at their exaggerated sentimental behavior he began to allow himself to relax slightly and through this means he heard Mrs. Briefs from downstairs, yelling on about the microwave, blaming Dr. Briefs and his colossal experiments for the damage while he remained perfectly clueless on the case.

His thoughts rounded off to tomorrow's training, the indulgence of the work out and the possible amount for spying and this got him unusually tired at the prospect.

'**Why am I wasting any breath on her? What does she matter? I am a Saiyan Prince and I need no one…to even think that I would ever fall into any 'relationship'…its absurd…how on earth can Kakarot possibly enjoy the company of a female human…how he could want it is beyond me! It's all shit!'**

These were his very thoughts and yet he could not deny that Bulma somehow made him feel, there was no other word for it that he could possibly use, good. Despite his constant demeaning of her, yelling at her through any alternative, shaming her if the circumstances presented a convenient situation, he simply enjoyed the way she made him feel and that was that she made him feel, in all respects, quite good, and on that she had no right in his restricted opinion.

Disgusted at his own feelings he glared down and his heart skipped a beat as Bulma and Yamcha came close to each other and ended their night with one last goodnight kiss and it burned him from inside, every fiber was ignited in flames.

Gazing down he saw the two broken halves of the plate he had just been holding as a whole in his hands…


	16. Drinks With Paranoia

Pride & Prejudice D

_**Pride & Prejudice **__**D.B.Z**_

_**Chapter Sixteen **_

_Bulma looked down her quickly thrown on casual attire and nodded, sure that Yamcha would approve of it. She was quite jittery about this date in particular, though in no way actually excited, since Yamcha had invited her over to his apartment for dinner, something he planned to cook himself. The last time she had stepped in that apartment had been the first, when she had helped him move in, two weeks after they had started dating. The location was slightly inconvenient, it was a block of buildings located on the outskirts far off the city, isolated from most normal areas and the drive from Capsule Corporation to there was about a half hour in her hover car, not including the time put in if you throw possibilities of traffic, which was always possible and that was why Bulma hardly ever visited him at his residence, he would just come over to hers by means of his speedy sports hover car or fly and the two of them would seek a city venue for enjoyment. She had asked Yamcha many times what joy he saw in such solitude for living and he had stated that it was a comfortable and luxurious apartment for little cost._

_Thinking over this, once again Vegeta's troublesome predicament came to mind. Since his revelation on the prospect Bulma had been out with Yamcha at least six times and this would be the seventh._

"**Damn Vegeta! He's got me worried about nothing…"**

_Cursing Vegeta for all he was worth she opened the main entrance to the apartment complex and strode up the flight of stairs in blind ambition, directing her attention towards room '27'_

"**Here goes"**_ she sighed, wanting the night to be suddenly over, as soon as possible. Knocking rather held back she forced a fake smile just as Yamcha whipped open the door, wearing to her utter dismay, a tuxedo._

"**Yamcha! Oh, I didn't know dinner was formal!"**_ she cried, half sorry, half angry for him not mentioning it on the phone. _

"**Doesn't matter, see?"**_ he commented as he whipped the jacket off and threw it to one side and rolled up his sleeves to appear somewhat casual but she just raised an eyebrow. _**"You look gorgeous as always so no worries"**_ he ended nervously, gesturing to her outfit._

_Somehow, the comment didn't reflect well on Bulma's already dismal mood and even the sight of Yamcha's efforts didn't help much in lifting her spirits which was a shame since Yamcha had gone all out beautifying his apartment for the occasion, setting out a perfected candlelit dinner for two._

_Yamcha lead her over to the table, pulling a chair out for her before pouring her something quite unfamiliar to drink in her champagne glass._

"**Yamcha, come off it!"**_ she responded as he sat across from her expectantly. _**"I'm NOT about to get drunk!"**

_He nodded wistfully, sipping the contents of his own glass, tempting Bulma until she couldn't resist and had a small taste, finding it too her liking._

"**Damn you!"**_ she selectively told him, drinking down the entire glass just as Yamcha brought around dinner, the classic spaghetti with meatballs._

"**You looked like you needed it"**_ he indicated as Bulma twirled a strand of spaghetti round her fork._

"**Do I look that put out?"**_ she questioned timidly, her eyes growing innocent._

"**I'm going with a definite 'yes'"**_ he assured her worriedly, attacking his own plate._

"**I'm sorry Yamcha…I guess…things haven't been exactly…normal"**

"**When are they ever?"**

"**Let's just say it's been really abnormal"**_ she concluded, closing that particular subject so that dinner remained silent for sometime, with the occasional mention of random nonsensical issues._

"**So how's Prince Charming?" **_Yamcha asked after a while. _**"I've really missed him and his pink shirt!'**

**He's…okay, I guess"**_ Bulma hinted uncomfortably._

"**Still being a jerk?"**_ Yamcha pressed on intentionally._

"**Well, he's been strangely…okay"**_ she replied with a soft smile, remembering how nice it had felt when he'd caught her in mid air during her fainting episode, something Yamcha highly disliked when he noticed that hidden grin._

"**I thought he was responsible for Goku breaking up with ChiChi?"**

"**Oh, most definitely! And I'm thoroughly against him for that, but…still…"**

_Trailing of as she drank down another glass, hiccupping soon enough while Yamcha merely glowered, not realizing how her random shrug had given a hard to his ego._

"**How can you live with a guy who's ruined your best friend's life?"**

"'**Ruined' is a very accusing term…too negative…I'd prefer the fact that he merely stalled their relationship…if I know Goku he'll be back soon enough…I think"**

"**You're suddenly keen on supporting Vegeta…"**

"**No, just doing him justice. He deserves at least that much…"**

"**Why? He's never done any to you…in fact…he treats you much like shit!"**

"**What do you mean?? He doesn't treat me like shit! Sure, he's not particularly fond of me but then again I'm not exactly quite impressed by him so we're even!"**

"**Are you? Even? Or are you paying him just the slightest bit more courtesy because if I'm not mistaken, Vegeta has suddenly become an obsession with you!"**

_Bulma couldn't believe her ears at this, the accusation was insane and so she merely inhaled and exhaled, desperate not to answer when Yamcha asked her a rather profound question concerning their relationship._

"**Bulma, do you love me?"**

"**No Yamcha, and that's why I'm here having dinner with you"**_ she responded sarcastically._

"**Well, that's no surprise since you seem to be hanging around Vegeta quite a lot, some one you claim to HATE!"**

"**He happens to be LIVING in my house and I never said I hated him!"**

"**Oh, I'm sorry! I guess you mustn't hate him, despite all the times you've complained, whined, cursed, or simply said that you hated him!"**

"**That's an exaggeration Yamcha and you know it!! Where do you come off twisting my words!! I NEVER said I hated him!!"**

"**Oh really! Well, my dearest darling Bulma…how exactly DO you relate to Vegeta and do please be honest with me??"**

"**What??" **_Bulma questioned back in disbelief, pushing back in her chair against the table to give herself some space in the cramped up situation while planning out._

"**Go on! How exactly do you relate to Vegeta?" **_Yamcha repeated in a put out tone of a drawl that Bulma found highly unusual in his behavior, she already knew where this was headed._

"**If you're suggesting for even one minute that I might possibly LIKE Vegeta then I've had it!! How many times have I told you I don't!! Don't you trust me enough to believe that there is nothing??"**

"**Of course I believe YOU!! It's HIM I'm worried about Bulma…"**

"**What is it about HIM, Yamcha that leaves you so insecure?" **_she sighed in fake sympathy and Yamcha was highly displeased at her lack of seriousness._

"**Bulma…you to seem to be getting on strangely good terms concerning his attitude just keeps growing worse…that just doesn't ADD UP!!"**

"**Well, Yamcha, you never really were good at math!! Besides, there's nothing to add up!! There is NOTHING!! Why are you being so paranoid about NOTHING??"**

"**Paranoid?? Bulma, have you not stopped to think what I feel? About…about us…and about…about him…that…that…ARGHH!! HAVE NOT STOPPED TO THINK WHAT I FEEL? WHAT I MUST BE FEELING THROUGHOUT THIS?? MY GIRLFRIEND COMPLETELY EXPOSED TO ANOTHER MAN?? A GOD FORESAKEN SLAVE TO HIM!! WHAT DO YOU THINK I FEEL, HUH?? WHAT ABOUT MY FEELINGS?? WHAT ABOUT ME??" **

_He was yelling now and Bulma knew well that that wasn't a good sign and decided to call it a night, already feeling sickly from the overdose of the wine Yamcha had drunk her up with, the motives obvious now…_

"**Look" **_she began in a hesitant voice, feeling her chest clench in a terrible knot but pressed on._** "I don't have any clue why you're suddenly interested in Vegeta, Yamcha but I'd rather drop it for now…I'm feeling dizzy and I'd like to get home while I can still drive"**

_Ending off she speedily got up, planning to leave fast, knowing she wasn't about to escape as yet and these thoughts were confirmed as she felt something catch hold of her right hand and spin her round forcefully to face Yamcha who was not looking particularly romantic at the time._

"**What is up with you?" **_he demanded forcefully, getting in closer, his scars burning, his eyes glinting flames…_

"**Maybe I don't want to tell you!"**_ she spat while trying to loosen his grip on her wrist to absolutely no avail._

"**You're going to have to Bulma"**_ he informed her, tightening his clasp, piercing her skin while she struggled to withstand, on the verge of nearly biting him but she retrained the huge of sinking her teeth into his hand to make him feel the ultimate pain._

"**I don't have to do anything!"**_ she shrieked in his ear but to no use because he merely brought his arms around her, pinning her so she couldn't do a thing but face him up close and she felt foul and abused in the situation._

"**What is so special about Vegeta that you care more about him than me?" **_he demanded with a nasty sneer, so close to her Bulma was feeling choked up by the closeness but not from the natural happiness and love she normally felt in similar situations for the truth was, the position could not have been more different. "_**Always, he's a distraction and I don't matter even in the least! But not anymore! If you're gonna be my girlfriend you owe me something to show me you really do love me!"**

_With this he planted a soft passionate kiss on her lips, not breaking away as Bulma pulled for she was jailed in his arms._

'**He's drunk'**_ her thoughts screamed_**. 'My boyfriend is drunk! And I'm with him, alone…in his apartment! Shit! I was set up…set up really badly! Yamcha wants me…in his bed! I can tell!! Oh, he's not right in the head!! Shit! Vegeta was right! He was right! This whole time…he knew…he tried to warn me! Shit!'**

_Yamcha finally pulled apart, allowing Bulma to breathe in before setting her accomplished lungs to work and screaming as loud as was possible for her to, hoping someone somewhere would hear. _

"**No use"**_ Yamcha chided completely out of his senses as he cupped a hand over her mouth softly and verge of biting began to grow. _**"This place is isolated, deserted, desolate baby"**

_The words hit Bulma like daggers striking her heart each and every time as her mind went numb, her thoughts a constant blur._

"**Vegeta was right! Vegeta! Oh, why didn't I listen?"**

_Yamcha became somewhat more aggressive then and began to pick her up, leading her towards the bedroom she so desperately didn't want to enter, afraid of what she might be committed to do, she just wasn't ready for such exposition even yet with her boyfriend, she felt much to uncomfortable and when she tried to shove him off his hand came like a ferocious swipe across her face so that she actually staggered back, disbelieving that for the first time he had actually hit her._

_He had hit her. Hard._

_Her lips quivering as the stinging sensation finally shot up and she felt the force burn on her cheek she brought up a shivering hand and felt heat and wetness which, she realized after withdrawing her hand and gazing down at the red, was her own blood dripping down her forehead, his blow had been that harsh._

'**He's lost his bloody head! This isn't my Yamcha! Yamcha would never have hit me like that!! He's not in his head! But that that doesn't mean I'm still not in trouble! I'm in shit alright! Oh Vegeta! Why didn't I believe you?'**_ she wondered in panic as she was bashed against the wall, pressing herself as if into the wallpaper, doing her best to edge away as far a possible from him._

'**Vegeta…Vegeta…'**_ Her brain kept repeating the name until she just felt like screaming it out, it wouldn't leave her mind._

"**VEGETA!!****" **

_It came out long and loud, echoing in the room never ending, echoing in her head, never ending…_


	17. The Prince's Rescue

Pride & Prejudice D

_**Pride & Prejudice **__**D.B.Z**_

_**Chapter Seventeen**_

Vegeta swore venomously out loud into the dusky clouds that had gathered around him while he had been flying high above, once again tailing Bulma's hovering vehicle, for how long he did not know and did not care nor wish to, it would probably be the death of him anyway. Except, for the last hour or so, he was sure of that time span, he had been merely flying around, navigating senselessly since he had lost Bulma's car, when the thicket of fog had shown up below in the city.

Swooping down swiftly he broke into a furious rush, whipping past lit skyscrapers as his entire mass of dark hair flew back in jets, determination and concentration frowning on his face when the jolt of an idea came to him.

Halting in mid air with a sudden prepared for jerk he closed his eyes softly and began to focus on searching, sensing for Yamcha's energy and realized with considerable shock that it was coming from quite close by if the pulsating shots within in him were correct, and surprisingly growing with each passing second. Following his instincts he fell into the correct direction and flew onwards, head veering in all directions madly as he felt the distant ki level rise with a deadly jolt. Speeding on he finally came to the supposed destination, a damp grey apartment complex with only three or four cars parked outside, one recognized as Bulma's, and not a single person visible to hassle answers out of or question threateningly.

With no doubt about the location, it only seemed fit that the place Yamcha would live would be a dirt hole Vegeta assumed, he landed softly on the concrete pavement, observing the surroundings in disgust since compared to this Capsule Corporation might as well be heaven, digesting the lonely serene scenery as second thoughts dared to plague his mind.

Suddenly the proud and arrogant Saiyan Prince wasn't sure of what to do and proposed to himself the option of simply turning around and leaving.

Questioning himself he decided it was much too weak to back out and headed into the complex entrance, taking in the deserted lobby mildly when he heard a few random, out of picture sounds from above, as if the ceiling was shaking, as if someone was stomping about up there and Vegeta could only raise and eyebrow at this.

Senses suddenly alerted to a maximum, Vegeta flew over to the staircase, ignoring the steps as he silently drifted above, descending on the first floor, a long and seemingly endless corridor. Straining to hear, he proceeded along, feeling the energy level he was tracking appear closer. And then he heard it and it paralyzed him completely as it ran through his mind.

"**VEGETA!!"**

Never had he heard such fear, such terror, such blatant horror in his life as the cry echoed through the hallway, shattering his life's worth of courage, bringing about a scared feelings even inside him as he recognized the voice immediately and a million crazy possibilities spun in his head, horrible feelings all over until he thought he was just about insane. Springing forward without a moments thought, breath held in, he launched his fist into the door of room '27', reducing it to splinters as he strode in to face none other than who he had been searching for.

"**Vegeta??"** Bulma cried from the right, sweating and tearing all at the same time from desperation, plastering herself against the wall, clearly trying to keep away from Yamcha who was fuming at him, but clearly not surprised by his entrance.

"**I was wondering when you were going to show up"** Yamcha sneered, taking a step forward. **"You weren't following us tonight so I got slightly suspicious"**

Bulma's eyes darted from Vegeta to Yamcha in a fearful flash, clearly scared of what would happen next.

"**What is going on?"** she asked in alarm, edging away from Yamcha ever so quietly, hoping to get closer to Vegeta.

"**Simply this"** Yamcha answered knowingly. **"'Wonder Prince' here has been spying on us! I've been able to sense his energy this whole time though…"**

Vegeta glowered as Yamcha smirked over at Bulma who was clueless in all aspects as she gazed over at Vegeta, wide eyed and traumatized.

"**Why'd you do it Vegeta?"** Yamcha continued. **"Huh? The cruel, ruthless Saiyan Prince you are doesn't do this…Bulma got you interested?"** he mocked, laughing his pleasures until Vegeta had just about had it.

In one swift movement he had teleported in front of Yamcha and punched him shortly in the stomach so that he collapsed to the ground, coughing up spurts of blood, trying to regain his composure as he spat to one side.

Standing up while struggling he began to whisper, **"I'd rather Bulma NOT be here when we fight"** He paused to spit some more blood aside while Vegeta merely glared hatred his way. **"We'll settle this right here, tomorrow, this time. And when you're out of the way…"** He indicated Bulma in such a vile way, inflaming Vegeta further, to such an extent that he gave Yamcha another swift punch, sending him flying across the room into his glass coffee table, shattering it to pieces as he lay sprawled across the carpet, only unconscious though.

"**Oh my God!"** Bulma whispered hurriedly, her face pale with utmost horror. **"Is he dead?"**

Walking over to her shaking figure he gave her an unemotional **"No"** to which she jumped as if just noticing him.

"**Vegeta!"** she cried, wrapping him unexpectedly in her arms, burying her tearing face into his chest as she squeezed him in the embrace. **"I'm so sorry I didn't listen! About Yamcha and…everything! You were right! I'm sorry! SO SORRY!"**

Blubbering uncontrollably, Bulma hugged on tight to Vegeta who was finding it all very unsettling, never having a woman crying in his arms before.

"**Can we go no?"** he finally asked in an impatient tone, tired of her infinite mass of tears. She nodded limply, sniffling still as he put his arms around her and rose above the ground. Minutes later they were flying outside into the night sky, Bulma lying on Vegeta's back, holding onto his neck so he could fly straight, and burying her head into his hair, desperate not to look down.

"**What about my car?"** she mumbled after a while, holding on extremely tightly, not resisting at all though.

"**I'll take care of it! Right now, just keep quiet"** he assured her strictly, ignoring the endless warmth being transferred to his body, dis-considering the speed his heart was beating at, how it was drumming against him, within, rejecting all the signals his brain was transmitting, he flew on, the Capsule Corporation on his mind.

He wondered at what they had just been through, of how he had finally won the battle and of his promised battle with Yamcha the next day.

'**The weakling must be insane to challenge me!'** he pondered thoughtfully. **'The very thought…'**

A tiny light breath indicated Bulma had fallen asleep, and rather deeply by the continuing sighs she emitted.

It was all becoming too much for Vegeta to balance and handle, much to traumatizing for him to take and he was full of relief when they were just on the outer limits of the Capsule Corporation and was thankful to simply fly in through the open windows he had left while sneaking out. Landing with experienced stealth in the middle of his room he began carefully prying Bulma's each and every finger off his neck, lifting her attached body away and laid her down on his bed to sleep on, not knowing of any possible way to take her to her original bedroom without waking her up and causing more commotion.

As he thought of what possibly to do next his gaze wavered over to Bulma's face and his eyes fired up when he saw, slashed down the side of her pale face, from her forehead to level with a little under her eye a glowing red slit of a cut, the rest of her cheek a glowing pink, obviously the mark of slap. He couldn't understand how he had missed it earlier and he thought about retracing his journey and beating the living daylights out of Yamcha just for the mark of one raised hand but a second look over her placid figure, the rested expression prevented him from doing so.

Bringing one finger up to his own forehead he traced down one of the cuts he had received by Goku's hand only recently and found it was similar to hers in shape, in width, in its very curve, all by sheer coincidence…


	18. A Hero Returns

Pride & Prejudice D

_**Pride & Prejudice **__**D.B.Z**_

_**Chapter Eighteen **_

_Bulma woke up with a start, memory foggy as she looked out the window right at her side, finding the view very unfamiliar to what she normally witnessed every bright day. She could see the path that lead up to the front area of the Capsule Corporation, her hover car parked just outside the gateway and the road and buildings across. She gazed about her surroundings, not recognizing an inch of the area when it suddenly came to her with the pinch of an electrifying jolt so that a sickening dread grew in her stomach, this was Vegeta's room, and she was in his bed!_

_Fumbling out of the tangling mass of bed sheets in sheer panic she sat up on the bouncy mattress, a million varied questions loitering about in her brain as she patted her hair down a bit, though with her afro it was rather pointless. Crawling off with every muscle in her body at work she tried to recall the night's events and to her horror, remembered it all, coming back to her in waves of memories, from Yamcha's very physical assault towards her, the worst kind, at the dinner he had organized to the very point where Vegeta had blasted his way in and sent Yamcha across the room with two punishing blows for his abusive actions. The last she could recall was when she was high up in the air, Vegeta flying her away, and she looked down to see her car and asked him what to do about it._

_Peering outside again her hover car was parked exactly where she had just seen it and she was a bit taken aback by this. Stumbling over to the window she strained to look down and to her puzzlement, found Vegeta outside, standing directly under the sill. And with him, of all the people Vegeta would have preferred keeping company with was Goku._

_Bulma's eyes widened in shock at the sight of the missing Saiyan's reappearance after his confusing loss and the conversation both of them were deeply induced in, something she was desperate to hear. Quietly, with extra caution, not wanting to be a victim of the wrath of the Saiyan Prince, Bulma opened the window a crack of an inch, enabling herself to catch what Vegeta had just been saying, and from the sounds of it they had just hit the main reason of the discussion._

"**I've called you here Kakarot to listen to me when I say…keep socializing with that woman if you must!"**

"**You mean ChiChi" **_Goku corrected in a stern voice, sounding deathly dangerous at the precise moment. _**"And I thought you said I couldn't…that it was wrong for a Saiyan to 'oblige to human emotions'"**

"**Well, now I'm saying you can!" **_Vegeta informed him, frustrated but Goku wasn't giving in, he was too emotionally scarred of the errors he had been forced to make to be so forgiving as he normally was._

"**After everything you made me put her through you want me to get together with her again? After everything you said!"**

"**When have you ever listened to me before Kakarot?"**_ Vegeta demanded in an exhausted voice, clearly disapproving of the entire thing, probably just wanting to collapse into a dead sleep by the looks of his face. _**"Is it my fault you chose this one time to actually obey me? Do yourself a favor and get back together!"**

"**Look Vegeta, I have no issue with getting back together with ChiChi, if she'll take me back. In fact, I'm going straight to her after I'm through here. It was a mistake being persuaded by you in the first place but now I'm curious…why? I know this isn't normal for you; first you say leave her, and then you say, get back together! What's up with you?"**

"**Look Kakarot! You are obviously lost without her and completely useless to everyone else. I plan to defeat you but when I do I want you at your best and I see now that that won't happen unless you're 'reunited' with her!"**

"**Awww Vegeta! You do have a heart!" **_Goku teased in a more friendly voice now, the change was incredible, giving Vegeta a short punch on the shoulder, which he received with a low growl._

"**Don't be ridiculous! I just thought about it and if you want to trash your life it should be your mistake entirely!"**

"**That means a lot to me Vegeta!"**_ Goku began hastily, wondering how to approach the situation further. _**"Heck, coming from you that practically means 'I love you'! Are you going soft?"**

"**Shut up or you'll regret it!"**_ Vegeta threatened as Goku laughed on the sidelines at his comment._

"**Same old Vegeta! How could I have thought you'd go soft on me?" **_he chuckled while Vegeta glowered before interrupting his comical fury. _

"**Is there anything else or are we done here?"**

"**Well…"**_ Goku thought, resuming to a more serious form so that Vegeta actually became wary of his companions changeable mood swings. _**"What would you say Vegeta if I…I married ChiChi…what would you do?"**

"**Damn you Kakarot! If you've pathetically fallen in love with some earthling kindly leave me OUT OF IT!!"**_ he stormed as his cheeks flushed a brilliant scarlet at being asked the question, before marching off the scene, leaving Goku quite confused and lonely, nevertheless cheerful._

_Bulma pondered over what she had just witnessed with some disbelief at Vegeta's change of heart. She could still feel the way it had felt when she had hugged him, tearing up and apologizing on and on, how his arms had gradually rounded around her, how warm and comforting he had felt, how she wanted it all over again…_

"**Bulma? Is that you?"**_ Coming back to her senses, truly she must have been loosing them; Bulma leaned out the window and smiled down, giving Goku an ecstatic wave as he addressed her._

"**Hey Goku! Come on up!"**_ Abiding to her words, Goku instantly transmitted himself with ease in to the room, grinning wide and cheerful behind her, oblivious, as she turned around to hassle him, glad he was officially in her clutches, having been tricked so easily as to believe that she wouldn't actually be angry at him when the honest truth was that her feelings were far from this._

"**Where have you been?"**_ she thundered suddenly, poking him constantly in the forehead while he stared down at her, dumbfounded. _**"You know what it's like to have your best friend call you and tell you her boyfriend ran out on her because someone else told him to, huh?****It's horrible! Where on earth did you go? How could you leave ChiChi the way you did? She's been crying like hell and whatever! I can't even stay that mad at you, do you know that Goku! You just end up making me smile! I hate you!"**

_Goku was staring down at her in thorough confusion as she quit poking him and gave him a soft hug before pulling apart and smiling._

"**Are you gonna start poking me again because it was actually hurting!"**_ he confessed as she laughed gently and shook her head lightly to indicate a negative._

"**But if you ever run away again I will! So, where have you been these two three weeks? It had to be a city, right, because there's no decent food in the wilderness and you would have basically died without your daily supply of doughnuts and noodles at your disposal!"**

"**Actually, I flew back to the mountains and believe it or not, I haven't eaten in days!"**

"**Say it isn't so! YOU haven't eaten! ChiChi will freak!"**

"**Yeah…I guess she will. But somehow, this was good for me…I got to think things over a bit…made an important set of decisions and then…last night Vegeta just showed up and told me to come back! I guess he's turned over a new leaf" **_Goku looked around as he said this before realizing something to Bulma's shame. _**"Hey, isn't this Vegeta's bedroom? Why were you sleeping here? Wait! Oh no! Did you and Vegeta-"**_He ended his sentence with a few gruesome connecting hand gestures, resorting in Bulma slapping him around the side in horror._

"**Most certainly NOT! This is Vegeta we're talking about! He may have changed but not THAT much! How could you even think that?"**

_Goku shrugged innocently, making Bulma burst out laughing as she playfully shoved him aside before getting to the important question._

"**I'm assuming ChiChi doesn't know yet…that her great Saiyan baby has returned with an empty stomach…are you gonna surprise her?"**

"**Well…"**_ Goku began long and stretched as he reached into the layers of his orange and blue outfit and pulled out a mini navy blue suede box out, pulling the gold metal catch open and revealing a plain yet elegant gold ring with a single shimmering diamond stud placed in it's centre._

"**Oh shit!"**_ Bulma exclaimed, starry eyed at the sight of the ring. "_**You're going to propose!"**

"**Yeah"**_ Goku sighed. _**"Except, I don't know how... I was hoping you would teach me…"**

_He trailed off blushing slightly as Bulma nodded in vigorous approval, giving him a quick wink before getting him in the correct position of a proposal, memorizing the lines in her head as she did._

_A minute later Goku was positioned on his knees adequately, his arms held out in front of him, holding the catch of the box closed as he stared straight ahead, reciting the speech to Bulma who was offering him tips while straightening his shoulders, going on about posture but at the same time recommending true feeling and passion in his voice to which merely Goku said he would picture ChiChi and him invading a Hot Dog Palace, he was that long gone in the field of romance.._

_With a few more random expressions she took a step back, biting her nails in anticipation, and waited for Goku to pop the big question towards her in practice. Unfortunately, it was just as an unsuspecting and awfully sleepy Vegeta entered the bedroom to collapse onto his bed in dead unconsciousness that Goku simultaneously asked, rather solemnly and with more than the necessary added lust and passion _**"Bulma, will you marry me?"**

_This was greatly followed by a _**"WHAT IS GOING ON??"**_ on Vegeta's part and both of their heads whirled his way in shock and on sight of his expression it was too much for either of them to take and so they burst out into everlasting laughter…_


	19. Anesthetic Darkness

Pride & Prejudice D

_**Pride & Prejudice **__**D.B.Z**_

_**Chapter Nineteen**_

Vegeta still couldn't believe the stupidity he had been cruelly subjected to when he had incorrectly assumed that Goku was actually proposing to Bulma, of all the stupid stunts ever pulled. It had been embarrassing in itself but it also made Vegeta unceremoniously aware that he had actually worried at the proposal and that meant Bulma no longer remained a simple distraction as he had always intended her to be.

Trailing down the staircase he turned swiftly into the hallway where Bulma stood, leaning against the wall casually, just putting the phone down upon it's cradle, the wire curled around her finger sin many loops and difficult knots and with this sight he passed her without a single word, hoping to make a quick and undisturbed exit.

"**Going out to beat up Yamcha?"** Bulma questioned innocently from behind, stopping Vegeta dead in his tracks and dashing his hopes completely.

"**How do you know about that?"** Vegeta demanded suspiciously, not being able to resist asking, he had after all tried to keep it a secret from her.

"**Goku told me"** she commented lightly as he turned to face her and saw the hidden grin on her face while Vegeta thoughtfully cursed a certain **'Kakarot'** in his mind.

"**Why are you Vegeta?" **Bulma continued with her flow of questions. **"You've made it apparent that you can pummel him to his death in mere seconds…why prove it?"**

Vegeta was stricken by this approach on her part and for a second he did stop to think 'why' but the temptation to finally get rid of that pestering excuse for a man was too great and so, without any solid answer he swung the door open and took off into the torrent of rain and thunder contributing to the lightening storm which was seemingly lacking the white flashes tonight but he was perfectly fine with that, not exactly willing to be fried alive on his way to the fight. Dis-considering the failing conditions he speeded on with many thoughts of how to approach the battle and suddenly, he burst into an emitting yellow flash, the metamorphosis brilliant as the dark mass of hair became glowing brilliant blonde, the black glints sparkling green, focused on the target as the Super Saiyan pressed on.

The weather refused to discourage him in the least and he cut through the howling wind sharply, undisturbed even as the towering grey building came into view, looking more threatening than ever before or perhaps that was just projections of last night. Looming in between the tempest was the shadowy figure of his opponent and this inflamed his desire to engorge into a thick, bloody battle.

"**I'm surprised you showed up Prince!"** Yamcha called above the thrashing of the ongoing storm, a sickening grin displayed on his face. **"One second I thought you were going to chicken out!"**

"**I can easily say the same for you!"** Vegeta smirked, advancing on the field of the fight, already feeling the self-proclaimed glory of the easy win he faced. **"Not just anybody has a chance against a Super Saiyan! How can you expect to win against me, the Saiyan Prince?"**

Yamcha scoffed at this with pure disgust clear and vibrant. **"You think, just because you're a Super Saiyan you can beat me? Go ahead! Give me your best shot!" **he drawled on, clearly unaware of the nerves he had ended in Vegeta who was fuming at this disrespect. Vanishing in thin air without a second glance he reappeared with a flash behind Yamcha, raised his fist and slammed into the others back with an indefinite crash. Jerking forward with the force of the blow he buckled in when Vegeta grabbed his foot and swung him around, throwing him off into the distance, chasing after him, beating him to the end and charged up his energy to ram a punch into his stomach. Yamcha clutched that specific area in pain as he received another uncountable kick to the face and blood spurt out from his mouth in red froth, giving Vegeta all the inspiration he could have possibly needed.

"**Give up?"** Vegeta bellowed roughly and when Yamcha shook his head stubbornly and sent a weak punch his way Vegeta grabbed hold of his arms, tugged on it to pull him in and brought his knee slamming into Yamcha's guts, wiping the breath out of him before barricading him down.

"**That was for yesterday!"** he growled, grabbing hold of Yamcha and punching him round before making him face him again. **"Remember? What you did?"** Clearly intent on revenge of the sweetest kind Vegeta brought Yamcha in for a centered mind throbbing head butt as Yamcha cried in pain. **"YOU HURT HER!!"**

The words came out unintentionally but he meant them as he slammed Yamcha's head into his knee. **"YOU CUT HER! SHE WAS FUCKIN' BLEEDING! YOU DID IT! AND NOW…NOW YOU'LL PAY!" **

Unable to contain himself Vegeta threw a fist fury of punches at Yamcha, attacking him thoroughly, death on his mind when Yamcha reemerged to face him up, his entire body limp and cut, his face a bloody mess and he was smiling…

"**I didn't know you cared Vegeta"** he muttered with a lisp and suddenly Vegeta felt a small, almost undetectable prick in his left arm, an indication that something was seriously wrong since, as a full fledged Super Saiyan at the excel of his power, he wasn't supposed to be able to feel tiny minor pinches of any sort, they were too small to hurt. Gaze veering down Vegeta saw his ultimate undoing, unbeknownst to him at the time, Yamcha's hand clutching an injection which had its needle deep within Vegeta's left arm, a strange transparent oily substance traveling into him at a sickly gradual pace so that Vegeta could actually feel the strange serum traveling into him, the intruder of his body webbing out. Snatching the injection out of his arm with ease, slight droplets of blood dotting the thin needle, Yamcha chucked it over his shoulder as Vegeta felt the intense pain gather in his arm, as if it was burning somehow, but from the inside.

"**Feels weird, huh?" **Yamcha inquired, fantasized as Vegeta tried to hide the inducing pain from his expression, ready to punch him but before his senses could react he was punched across the face and to his utter disbelief, it actually hurt.

"**Now that"** Yamcha mused, **"was supposed to be impossible, right?"** He sent another smack in the direction of the Saiyan's jaw, cutting him in thoroughly. **"Why's the poor little prince so weak, huh?"**

Mercilessly he kicked Vegeta to one side as he felt himself numb all over, an inexperienced sensation as his senses weakened in defense. He felt dizzy and weak, desperately weak, as if his power was just leaving, his life draining away in a slow process of inducing increasing pain. Yamcha kicked him in response to his stomach so that he backed up in pain and his own blood began choking him, leaking out of his mouth as he tried to understand what was happening to him but his head ached so much, he couldn't not did he want to understand why. And then, as if a huge portion of his life source had been cut off, he felt his aura leave him and his hair resumed to their dark consistency, his eyes black once again as the light slowly left them. Hurled over, Vegeta balled his fists, spitting to one side, determined not to back down when Yamcha grabbed the front of his armor and pulled him close so that they were face to face, the animosity clearer than ever before.

"**Figured it out?"** he sneered, repeating a move of Vegeta by slamming his knee in Vegeta's guts, making him feel the equivalent pain ten times over than natural pain. **"It's anesthesia"** he went on, enjoying the horror he was able to see in Vegeta's sinking eyes as he slammed both his fists down on Vegeta's head, causing his eyes to half roll in, his mind to burst with pain as he fell to the hard surface, landing on the solid ground, unable to react, he was too caught up in the feel of being paralyzed.

Turning to lie on his back he gritted his teeth in pain, clenching his hands so tightly his finger nails dug into his skin. He could feel the blood rushing to his head, thundering in his ears. Not only was the anesthesia making him weaker by the second, it was just about killing him, making his insides bleed, as if he had drunk down boiling melted lead.

"**Yeah, it does that"** Yamcha assured him, landing at his side, the devil in his eyes. **"This isn't just your regular anesthesia…its Dr. Brief's extra formulated high in content anesthesia…kind of like chemical acid if you want a simpler term.** **I stole it for simply this purpose, even though it isn't quite perfected yet…as you can see…naturally, Dr. Briefs did not intend to harm anyone with this and he's been trying to have it fixed but for now, the effects of lack of perfection are taking place inside you…in fact, it could easily kill a human within an hour or so but you'll manage to live…I expected that. The least it'll do to you is slip you into a coma…nice and slowly…"**

He began to pace around, enjoying this form of torture in his command before speaking on, obviously enjoying the traumatic circumstances.

"**I'd rather we don't spread this around Vegeta. The substance I injected in you is highly lethal so I basically just broke the law but hey! You broke into my flat and** **that's also illegal so I guess we're even now! Bulma will of course be devastated over her darling prince! You can tell she thinks the world of you!"** There was some bitterness in his voice, clear jealousy but he got over it soon enough. **"However, soon enough it'll be my turn…when you're of no use to her she'll be crying back to me and with you out of the picture…well…we'll see!"**

Vegeta glared over at Yamcha, trying to mouth a few choice words while struggling to get up when Yamcha looked down at

him, shaking his head before saying **"Pathetic"** after which he aimed a swift kick at Vegeta's head, blinding him with white hot burning pain and the warmth and taste of raw salty blood before flying off into the clouds of the night, leaving behind Vegeta who was unable to move, bleeding all over, stalling to breath and completely helpless…


	20. The Finding

Pride & Prejudice D

_**Pride & Prejudice **__**D.B.Z**_

_**Chapter Twenty**_

_Bulma tightened her already steaming grip on the rubber of the steering wheel, tearing holes in it's surface as she cursed the vivid reflection of her wide and fearful eyes in the rear view mirror, doubtful worry consuming her thoughts, clawing away inside her. Swerving a rather unforeseen corner she saw the flash of light in the mirror where there was no doubt about it that for a moment, instead of her own eyes a pair of dark mysterious ones swallowed in isolation had gazed back at her, luring her in. _

_Bulma felt the beginning of another supposed migraine coming around as she veered her eyes back to the road she was driving on, pretending she hadn't just let her emotions go crazy. Yet, even now, that was what she was doing without break, driving out through dark and sinister environments all alone in the comforts of her hover car just to find Vegeta because it had only taken her a few minutes to make her firm decision, and that was to tail after Vegeta when he went on his fight with Yamcha._

_She felt she had every right considering Vegeta had followed Yamcha and herself on consecutive dates without much consideration for privacy, even if in the end it had been for her own good but she argued with herself that in a way this would end up benefiting Vegeta, though how exactly she was still unsure of in fact. With the convincing done she had run out into the harsh thundering rain to see him long gone and had almost given up on the idea when she remembered that there fight, according to Goku when she had interrogated him earlier, was at Yamcha's apartment complex and with those directions committed to heart she set off on the tedious journey, a solo car on the empty road, and now she was regretting it immensely. _

"**Oh Vegeta…why?"**_ she mumbled sadly, the hurt ebbing in her throat. _**"What do you have to prove? You'll beat the crap out of him!"**

_She basically had full confidence that he'd pummel Yamcha into the depths of the earth hands down, and so her driving over was quite pointless and would probably irritate Vegeta further but she somehow felt she had to be there during the battle, as moral support, maybe to show that his efforts weren't only for him but that she aloes felt some form of gratefulness at them. She would of course be devastated if Yamcha was, say, on the verge of death, but if it was just a few limbs then she wasn't sure she'd care. It was more Vegeta's motives that had her concerned, his rapid change in personality, and his sudden positive approaches as opposed to the old tyrannical Vegeta she had been dealing with. His surprising push to get Goku back with ChiChi, despite it being his fault in the first place that they broke up, was unnatural. And how he'd just appeared to rescue her, just when she screamed his name? It couldn't all be blamed on coincidental irony, which, for once in her life, had served purpose in her favor. She couldn't forget lying on his back the whole flight, how it had felt soothing, comfortable and even wanted in a way, though Vegeta actually wanting her seemed a bit far off._

_And her own feelings in response were now an irrevocable issue, her sudden emotional 'fondness', her inability to rid him of her mind, he was her concentration 24/7. The very possibility that they could be more was murdering her inside, emotionally and brutally._

"**Vegeta and I are strictly…strictly…strictly…strictly something!"**_ she told herself firmly, though she felt she was doing a useless job. _**"Nothing more. He obviously dislikes me to a very minor extent but he still dislikes me! And I…well I am a lost case currently not in a state of mind so any feelings are mutual…yet unreal…oh Vegeta!"**

_She was so confused it seemed there was lack of any breathable air in the car so she rolled down the window and allowed the breeze to calm her down just as the block of flats came into view. Then, just as she was turning another corner she saw, lying motionless in the middle of the road, a living mass and, with a gasp of shock she jetted off course, crashing into a thicket of thorny brambles that aligned the road._

_Panic stricken she switched of the ignition and fought her way out of the car, avoiding the thorns as best as possible as she made her way to the person lying there. Jogging over she fell to her knees to see clearer in the dark and felt a sickening dread in the pit of her stomach when she noticed the familiar shape of the rising hair..._

"**No, no, no, no, no, no, no, NO!"**_ She had to scream in the end, no amount of self control could have held it back as she turned over the bloody body with all her remaining strength, staining her hands red to the skin, and attempted curving the persons back up so she could somehow hold them in her arms, one hand placed on their chest, one curving the neck and holding the head up, running through the soft running hair as she felt her eyes brim with welling tears when she saw Vegeta's pale face, cut wherever there was skin, eyes closed halfway, seemingly dying, blood all over including a trickling crimson stream trailing down from his mouth._

"**No! Vegeta, Vegeta, VEGETA! Wake up!"**_ she cried, the uncontrollable tears remaining un-escaped as her vision became blurred but they just wouldn't leave her as her hands began shaking uncontrollably, her mind ablaze of random out of place thoughts. Bringing her hand under his armor she felt about for a heart beat, any indication that he was still living despite what she held in her arms and her own heart nearly stopped functioning when she heard the slowing deep beats that it drummed at her fingertips, as if it was clinging on to life but slowly slipping, draining away._

"**Oh Vegeta! Wake up! Wake up!" **_she cried, softly slapping his face to wake him up, getting harder and harder with each hallow clap, the slaps growing intense and furious until they hurt her own palm and until finally his eyelids began to flutter gradually open as his lips struggled to breath. Being slapped over and over he finally allowed his eyes to open a fraction as he coughed out tiny spurts of blood in an attempt to speak, finally allowing Bulma's tears to give way and pour delicately down her cheeks as she gazed down at him in desperation, wondering how much time she had left with him._

"**Vegeta! Vegeta! Please wake up!"**_ she pleaded as his gasps became more desperate, dying and so she pressed on his chest hard, forcing the air to leave his body and return properly while she wept in panic. Her tears fell lightly on his face, mixing with the blood so she wiped them away in the middle of it all with he r bloody hands, cleansing it as softly as she could, getting rid of each coughs result while she continued crying and pleading while running her fingers lovingly through his hair, the hair she'd always secretly wished to touch, finger, caress, absorb herself in deeper, swallow herself in it…engulf herself…but not like this…not like this…_

"**VEGETA! PLEASE WAKE UP!"**_ she screamed once again and this time, severing herself, she heard it, shivering and wheezing in a tiny whisper, _**"The…anes…anes…thesia…he…did it…help…me"**

_The sentence had drained him of the last pints of his energy and as he coughed it out with pools of blood his heart beat had substantially increased in beating repetitively, faster than was normal as Bulma felt his body tense as he tried to speak, his veins pulsating all over as his attempts to breath became more forced and slowly his eyes started closing again._

"**No! Vegeta! Don't go!"**_ she begged as the heart beat once again began to drop, slowing down even more than before with each moment in which she shed her tears, trying to digest the words he had last spoken to her with his frozen lips. _

'**Help me'**

"**DON'T GO!"**_ He had gone limp in her arms, breathing dying away with each gasp as Bulma started shouting for help, at the same time urging for him to hold on a little bit longer to the strings of life. _

"**HELP! SOMEBODY! PLEASE HELP ME! Oh, don't go Vegeta! You can't! PLEASE! SOMEBODY! HELP!"**

_It was all coming out in blurts and sobs, cries for unavailable help along with her determination to keep him with her. He was growing so very heavy in her arms she didn't think she could hold on much longer but something in her heart told her to wait, just a bit longer, just a bit more, and everything would be all right._

"**HELP!! PLEASE! Wake up Vegeta! You can't go! HELP!"**

_She buried her hand into her jean pocket, rummaging for her cell phone, brandishing it in quick success before dialing the triple '9' with sweating fingers in hopes of emergency dialing. The 'No Service' flashed across the screen in brilliant green lettering as Bulma redialed and met the same fate. Screaming in rapture she threw it across the road where it broke into two pieces while Bulma returned her attention to Vegeta who was slowly sinking down._

"**HELP! Vegeta, you can't go! I won't let you! HELP! HELP!"**

_Her tears continued to run wildly, her own clothing drenched in more blood than ever before as her thoughts went insane, killing her as she looked around for anybody, absolutely anybody in the solitude, the loneliness.._

'**This is all my fault! All MY fault!'**_ she thought, thinking over how Vegeta had warned her from the beginning, how she had taken it as a joke, over everything he had said which she had denied and now it had all backfired so very drastically. In truth, she had done this to him when she first rejected what he had said to her, thought them lies and now here was the result._

"**I'm sorry Vegeta…please get up! PLEASE!"**

_Bringing her head down she rested her forehead against his in fatigue, whispering in the deadly silence, hoping with all her heart he could hear what she had to say._

"**You can't leave me Vegeta…you can't…it's too late…you can't…it's too late…"**

_He felt completely ice cold in her arms, frozen to the bone with his heart beat nearly still…_

"**It's too late…I already love you…"**


	21. Reawakening

Pride & Prejudice D

_**Pride & Prejudice **__**D.B.Z**_

_**Chapter Twenty One**_

_He had to breathe…breathe…the will to breathe…to be alive…_

_He felt pressure…on him…pushing him…down…it hurt…but it helped…he felt drowsy…and sleepy…_

_Sounds…very far away sounds…they sounded familiar…distinct…yet far away…was he blind…or was there only darkness…just darkness…nothing to see…nothing…overcoming sleepiness…that was it…_

_They were voices…he could hear them most definitely…clearer…clearer…clearer than ever before…and he knew them…especially one…he could hear that one above the rest…that one…that special one…oh so special…that one…_

"**WHAT DO YOU MEAN THE DRAGONBALLS WON'T WISH HIM AWAKE??"**

He knew that voice so very well; female no doubt about it and he somehow had missed it since he had been away to wherever it was that had been, the shrieking, the piercing, the screeching of it…

"**Sssshhhh! Please…please…relax!"**

He knew that one to; surely he did, though it wasn't as familiar as that first one he admired dearly. Male this time and one he recognized, though he couldn't determine clearly. If only he could will his eyes to open but they felt so tired, so weak and the rest was pleasurable…

"**WHAT DO YOU MEAN 'SSSSHHHH!!'? HE'S IN A COMA, NOT SLEEPING! IT'S NOT LIKE I'M GONNA WAKE HIM UP!!"**

"**I know…but please try to understand Bulma…"**

Bulma…that name…that name was familiar to…but who…he knew that name…had heard it so many times…many times before…said it…thought it…loved it…loved it…loved it…

"**TRY TO UNDERSTAND WHAT?? THAT YOUR STUPID DRAGON WON'T WAKE HIM UP?? WHY?? WHY WON'T HE WAKE VEGETA UP??"**

Vegeta…what? He knew that to…but from where…that name was so close…both of them…both names were close…felt like they were a part of him…but how…how could they?

"**Bulma please listen! The dragon balls can't wish him back to life because he's not exactly dead…"**

"**SO?? I NEVER ASKED TO WISH HIM BACK ALIVE!! I SAID WISH HIM AWAKE!!"**

"**I KNOW Bulma! But we tried wishing him to wake up! The dragon said we can't because it is a disability…of natural causes…"**

"**NATURAL CAUSES!! IT WASN'T NATURAL CAUSES!! FOR CRYING OUT LOUD, YAMCHA INJECTED HIM WITH LETHAL ANESTHESIA BEFORE GOING ON THE RUN!! SINCE WHEN IS THAT A FUCKING NATURAL CAUSE!!"**

"**I know Bulma but apparently…anesthesia is a natural cause…and since there's no proof…no one saw him…I'm sorry but…it's not working…"**

"**PROOF? YOU WANT PROOF?? HOW 'BOUT THE FACT THAT VEGETA'S LYING THERE SENSELESSLY IN A COMA!! ISN'T THAT PROOF ENOUGH!! HE TOLD ME!! HE TOLD ME IT WAS HIM!! YAMCHA IS GUILTY!!"**

"**I know that's how it seems Bulma but Shenron…he won't listen…it's done…"**

"**NO! NOT VEGETA…not Vegeta…please no…"**

The voice was sinking…lowering and then…a strange sound…as if it were sobs…long desperate sobs…sobs he needed to stop…end those cries…stop the weeping…it was torturing him everywhere…everywhere…outside…inside…

"**Bulma…stop crying…come on…maybe…maybe he'll wake up…get up…come on…"**

"**Goku, you don't understand!"**

Goku…that name was also important…so very important…he knew it from somewhere but memory wasn't coming…why wasn't it though?

"**You can't understand…"**

The voice had changed though it was the same one it was tearing, broken, without spirit.

"**I need him to wake up! I NEED it! He can't just leave…not Vegeta…not now…not him…"**

"**I know it seems wrong Bulma…unfair but there's nothing we can do about it…please get up…"**

"**No! I'm not leaving until he wakes up…"**

"**Bulma, please be reasonable…I understand what's happening…I know Vegeta was special to you…he meant something to me to…but…"**

"**You don't get it Goku…he wasn't just special…he was more for me and now…no…Vegeta can't leave me…it's Vegeta…the big strong Saiyan Prince…he's never weak…he'll wake up any second…any second he'll wake up and demand I serve him pancakes…"**

"**Bulma…stop…"**

"**And I'll do it…as many pancakes as he wants I'll make them…even if it takes all day…as soon as he wakes up…he'll wake up…he'll wake up and I'll be right here…waiting…"**

"**Bulma…"**

"**Even if it takes forever…I'll wait…forever…because…"**

"**Bulma…calm down…you're not thinking straight!"**

"**Because…because I love him…"**

"**Bulma…plea-wait…what did you just say? Did you just say you love him?"**

"**I love him Goku…I really love him…"**

"**Bulma…I…I didn't know…"**

"**I know…even he didn't know…and…up till just now…neither did I…"**

Vegeta felt the warmth scorch his eyelids and he felt so very pressed in, pressurized on both his sides and his eyes felt like they were burning to steam and ash. It was all so overwhelming and he was finally compelled to awaken, open his eyes and sit up straight and do as he would please with the rest of his hours. And so he gradually allowed his eyelids to lift and found it surprisingly difficult, reducing all energy out of him with each fragile attempt, rise up and at long last open and he regretted it that moment.

"**Vegeta! You're…you're…"**

"**Kakarot?"** he questioned back clueless, trying to make sense of the blurry figure gazing down at him, simply matching the voice to his thoughts but as his sight began to adjust he saw, hovering above him, smiling that goofy grin he was well known for was none other than Goku, the last person he wished to wake up to, especially that morning.

"**Wow…I…wow…you're…actually awake…wow…"**

He seemed daftly stupefied and Vegeta didn't bother to ask why as this was expected from the great Kakarot and just gathered out what was happening to him at the current situation. He felt thoroughly exhausted, tired out and yet, better than ever before, rejuvenated, fresh and alive once more, none of this made sense. He looked around, trying to understand why he was in a very lumpy and extremely uncomfortable cardboard feel of a bed with wires plastered all over him, stuck to his skin, needles pierced in his wrists, all attached to bizarre irregular machines that were beeping and going haywire, showing lines and simply bothering him immensely till he felt like blowing up the entire assortment of technology. Apart from all that he couldn't seem to adjust to the heavily wrapped bandage around his forehead, creating an irritating tension around his head, blockage type. He was in a plain and rather odd room and it was boring him entirely, even with Goku at his side, speechless and gaping, the true form of entertainment Vegeta couldn't help but admit, you couldn't pay for, it was priceless, that gawking expression of Goku's.

"**Vegeta? I thought you were…gone!"**

"**What are you talking about Kakarot?"** Vegeta muttered in a soft hoarse voice, making effort to breath, finding it a task at hand. He attempted to sit up and found it quite a burden to lift his body up but he wouldn't let Goku help him in the least, merely pushed himself up, determined to perform this simply task by himself as he was sure he was capable of such a thing with his Saiyan strength and couldn't believe his weakness during the process.

And then he saw her, the flowing blue mass of hair and that pale yet extraordinarily exotic face of hers, lying asleep in a chair next to his bed, her head resting in his lap lazily and yet gracefully, rising and falling with each low sigh she emitted while she slept away deeply. He couldn't stand it but he just felt ferociously compelled to reach out, reach out and touch her, wanting to confirm that she was actually there in physical blessing. But he held back the temptation, first vowing to sort out Goku who was unable to deal with the circumstances at hand.

"**This isn't possible! Vegeta…how are you awake? Amazing! You're awake!! Woo-hoo!! You're awake" **and before Vegeta could prepare himself the ecstatic Goku had begun happy dancing right there in the spot next to Vegeta's bed, cheering all the way while Vegeta attempted not to seem to affected by the ridiculous movements and merely pretended there was air in his face instead.

"**This is a miracle!! A miracle!!...WOO-HOO!! Have to wake Bulma up!! She'll be thrilled! She'll be seriously thrilled!!"** he exclaimed, before reaching out to shake Bulma lightly awake across Vegeta's lying figure but Vegeta stopped him with one limp hand, shortly pushing it away from Bulma's figure before uttering a low and desperate **"No"**

"**No?"** Goku asked back, still confused, as if the word was not self explanatory. **"What do you mean 'No'? I have to wake her up! She's been anxious for this moment!!"**

"**No" **Vegeta repeated once again, refusing to let go off Goku's wrist, shoving it farther away, not giving up on preventing her from awakening.

"**Why? She needs to know…Vegeta, she has been praying for this moment for days now…we have to wake her up…"** Goku protested but Vegeta just shook his head, refusing to relent so that Goku continued to speak on.

"**Vegeta, you can't do this? She needs to see you awake! She needs to! It's all that's been keeping her hopes up…it's all that kept her ALIVE, to know you might wake up…that there was chance…she needs to see you!!"**

Vegeta was mightily alarmed that Bulma had been on such tender hooks, that desperate and finally, he satisfied Goku by whispering **"I'll do it." **Goku's eyes widened in surprise but in a way he was suddenly able to understand, saw something new in Vegeta's eyes, something he was sure had also been in Bulma's eyes, something warm and disguised, something he knew because he had possessed it once and so he nodded firmly and gently pulled Vegeta's fingers off his wrist before preparing to exit the room unheard, preparing to set off bay everyone waiting outside the room. He gave Vegeta one last look, not confused exactly but simply attempting to understand, before vanishing.

Vegeta gazed down at Bulma, his heart swelling up with something so alien to him it actually hurt, but somehow, that hurt was actually welcome and he couldn't help but enjoy it. He was driven then, by a desire he longed to fulfill and he reached out, extending one very weak arm, ignoring the pulling of all the needles and wires and the inducing pricks and pinches they were causing and ran one hand through her fluffy blue hair, feeling exhilarated at how soft it actually felt compared to how he had always imagined it would have felt. He felt the strands twirl around his fiddling fingers, silky and smooth while he relished at the touch and then, when he least suspected it, he felt her move.

Snatching his hand away, he ignored the pain he felt at no longer being able to touch her hair but then feeling it leave him as she raised her head slowly, waking herself up and then faced him, a dreary expression that changed as soon as she realized that she was staring back at equally awake eyes and her own widened, shining and living, unable to believe what they were seeing, misunderstood as he gazed into them and suddenly, to his shock he saw them…silent tears trickling down her soft pale cheeks, falling ever so gently on his hand…


	22. Being The Luckiest Woman Alive

Pride & Prejudice D

_**Pride & Prejudice **__**D.B.Z**_

_**Chapter Twenty Two**_

_Bulma sat very silently, rather disturbed yet grateful at the same time, in the hard back wicker chair she had dragged back from the lobby when no one was watching, reaching forward and holding onto Vegeta's hand, squeezing it as if he might just slip away if she let go and she couldn't stand that happening once again, it would be just too much for her to bare on her soul. She had been at the nearby General Hospital so long now, sleeping over the entire week Vegeta had been unconscious, refusing to believe what anybody said about her loosing him forever. They had all told her, he's gone into that coma permanently and that they couldn't save him but here he was now, awake for only a few hours and already demanding he be able to leave the hospital, same old Vegeta. _

"**Why do I have to stay here? It's a complete waste of time!"**_ he growled tiredly as Bulma continued to hold onto him, massaging his wrist with her fingers in circular motions unconsciously while Goku stood in a corner of the room simply laughing to himself at the Saiyan Prince's inconsiderate attitude over the circumstances he was facing in which the stakes had gone up pretty high.._

"**Because Vegeta"**_ Bulma started, ignoring Goku's constant chuckling as best she could. _**"You've just been in a coma. That won't seem like a big deal to you but trust me…its big"**

_Vegeta resumed staying utterly silent after that, tired of arguing to absolutely no where, when Goku stepped forward, curious about something._

"**Vegeta…what exactly do you…well…what do you remember?"**_ he asked knowingly and for once, Vegeta wasn't tempted to mock him but gave it some thought before responding._

"**I just remember me beating the heck out off that bastard and then he injected me with…anesthesia…the idiot said he'd taken it from you're father" **_he explained exhausted just rethinking the dilemma, his gaze falling on Bulma who looked up sharply, ceasing the movement of her fingers in a flash. _**"Then he just flew away…that's all I remember…"**

_Bulma blinked severely after hearing this, feeling relief and grief wash over her all at once, unable to understand what was happening as she resumed rubbing her fingers over his hand in the soothing motion that only calmed him in an unknown way but also sent a bit of relief ebbing through her own veins. _

'**He doesn't remember me finding him' **_she thought to herself with grief at brevity as she looked over the Saiyan Prince who seemed quite put out by the compulsory confinement, not knowing what she was going through but then again she thought, how could he possibly. _**'He doesn't remember speaking to me…he doesn't remember me screaming…he doesn't remember me crying…he doesn't even remember that I said I loved him…'**

_She wasn't sure what to feel, her heart was torn in two ways concerning Vegeta's inability to gain back that portion of his memory and it seemed in both ways to be a second chance and also as if an important portion of herself had been wrenched away from her heart. It seemed that Bulma had never come to him in his mind and so he would remain oblivious on that factor, as to how he came to hospital. Bulma felt distressed that he still didn't know she loved him but a part of her actually felt good about that, glad that it still remained a secret, nonexistent in his mind so that she could now break it to him at a more convenient time, better than loosing him at least._

"**So you don't remember anything after that? About how Bulma found you? Or how I found Bulma?"**_ Goku pressed further as Bulma bit her lips tensely, realizing Goku had blown it and that this might lead to questioning on how she found him but Vegeta merely growled under his breath, indicating he most definitely did not remember and preferred that he may not be refreshed on the tedious topic. _

_Bulma however, felt the memory fresh in her mind, a memory that would never leave her as it flooded its way back to come alive again. _

_She had been at his side on that deserted road, holding onto his heavy yet frail body with tired limping arms, screaming for anybody to help her. Anybody at all and she would have been content but no one showed up with each of his dying breaths and she honestly felt, all over and in her heart especially that she was going to loose him right there and then. And then, from above she heard someone calling her name and she was so desperate she felt a small hope ignite within her spirit as a blazing fire and so she resumed calling out, yelling for help and to her relief and utmost thrill Goku landed in front of her, his face pale with worry when he saw her knelt down next to a bloody body, her own self drenched in red, her tears still on the uncontrollable run. _

_He had taken one look at Vegeta and his face had frozen in horror but unlike Bulma he managed to lift him up fully in his arms, resolving to take immediate action and with Bulma holding on tight to his arm he managed to instantly transport all of them just at the entrance of a predicted General Hospital._

_She could feel it all flood back to her, how they had whisked Vegeta off to the emergency room, leaving her and Goku in the waiting room since they weren't allowed in despite her many pleas, protests and soon enough, physical threats, anticipation running through both of them. That was when she had asked Goku how he had known to come and find them and he was able to answer quite easily._

"**I sensed Vegeta. Normally I wouldn't have unless I concentrated long and hard but such a dramatic drop was obvious and I knew at once that Vegeta was in trouble so I flew out to find him, following the ki…except it was getting difficult with every second, the energy level was dropping to nothing… and then I heard you…screaming…screaming like hell…now I know why"**

_Bulma was so inwardly grateful that Goku had sensed Vegeta's level drop or she might not be sitting, speaking to him there, holding onto his warm and more importantly, living, hand. _

_She could also remember what had happened when she found out that he had slipped into the coma, that everyone had been too late to save him from a fate worse than death. How she had pushed past everybody, not listening to a single soul, intent on only bringing back one and collapsed at his bed in the theatrical operating room, shaking him with all the remaining energy left within her, a miniscule amount but she still used it to function, crying out his name as a fresh batch of tears came round but he had not awaken, just lay there sound asleep in forever slumber and she had fallen to her knees, her soul and spirit diminished and lost, burying her face in her hands, unable to believe that he had left her._

_And then, just as the doctors were pulling her away, she hadn't had the will power to put up much of a fight and in the end they just limply carried her out, that she had hit the possible idea of using the dragon balls to wish him awake and hope arose. She had immediately sent Goku on a wild chase up to Korin's and then to Kami's lookout, asking everybody for the dragon balls and it was with Kami's final word that Goku had returned to her the next day, giving her the desolate news that the flame had sparked out. _

_The dragon would be unable to bring him back because it was off natural causes despite the fact that he was forcefully injected lethal medicine. No matter how the case was presented he couldn't be awakened and it felt as if she was loosing Vegeta all over again with dread and trauma and that was when she had lost it completely._

_All sanity seeped away and she remained clinging on to wishful thinking, refusing to leave his side, believing that eventually he would wake up. _

_Goku had desperately tried to pull her away with all his strength but to no avail, her grip on the side of the bed, nails digging into the mattress was too powerful and he had even called ChiChi over but she hadn't been able to succeed either and even after all her other friends came over no one could remove her from Vegeta's side, much as they tried. Bulma's own parents came soon enough, begging her to let it go, that she was killing herself like this, to leave the hospital and come home and simply hope for the best but she refused, just asked them to bring her some more clothes and a few other articles of hers so she could remain in the hospital under living conditions at least, being presentable and well off just didn't matter anymore, it was about living for her now._

_And for an entire week she sat by him, only getting up to use the toilet and only took that interval once a day, otherwise pinned next to him, unable to digest anything, unable to drink down anything, barely blinking she was that lost in her thoughts and her dying hopes which she refused to let go off, no matter how slim. She was decaying herself, diminishing herself, killing herself off and she knew it, that as soon as she had suffered the broken heart her soul in itself would also break, gradually each piece would crack until she was an empty shell, gone and dead from inside after all her weeping had ceased, which, though they would take possibly eternity, would eventually die out._

_Goku had finally reached his tether after seeing his close friend basically on the verge of dying herself and refused to leave Bulma on her own and with ChiChi's careful and cautious instructions had Bulma resume eating, helping her keep down small amounts of edibles but nothing more._

_And then, the miracle, a week after he was proclaimed never to wake up Bulma had witnessed her wish come true when she had awoken from a light slumber. She had been so tired, deathly tired that she had fallen asleep without meaning to, resting her head in his comfortable lap with wishful thinking and blissful memories wandering about in her mind and then she had felt movement under her, had felt something touch her and this had caused her to shift herself, wondering if perhaps Goku or her parents were waking her up in attempts to get her to come home which were very short lived she thought to herself since she refused to leave that spot. When she had managed to finally awaken she looked up straight at the face of Vegeta and got the shock of her life when she saw those glowing black orbs staring back at her, awake and alive themselves, confused yet alive no doubt about it and she had thought that she had simply died and gone to heaven._

_Her breath had gotten momentarily stuck in her chest in a knot and her entire freezing body had gone numb from head to toe, as she tried to understand that what she was seeing was real, not the hallucinations of somebody crazy and out of their mind._

_So she did what she knew she would only have one opportunity to do to make sure that she would never die without feeling it. She didn't wait for breath to come back, simply leaned forward and brought her arms around his neck, hugging him, crying the whole time, shedding her silent tears until she had worn them both out but at least she knew then that it was all real because no matter how hard she tried, she could never imagine the golden warmth that had flowed through each and every vein when she had touched him, felt him alive and when she had hugged him, he might not have been expecting it but he hadn't tried to pull away or push her off and that was what she had appreciated the most. Just being able to hug him, not saying a word but just feeling him alive in her arms, had been enough to allow her to resume eating once again, and the colour had slowly returned to her cheeks. She was still extremely weak, had lost a lot of weight recently and that week from eating nothing had cut off her entire energy supply and she was still awfully tired, feeling fatigue every random moment with horrible bags under her red, blood shot eyes, her face still slightly pale but that would all change when she brought her eyes down on Vegeta and when that happened she felt, she was absolutely sure, she was possibly the most luckiest woman there ever was, to have her broken heart fixed…_


	23. Reminising With The Wonder Prince

Pride & Prejudice D

_**Pride & Prejudice **__**D.B.Z**_

_**Chapter Twenty Three**_

Vegeta wasn't sure whether to fear the unbelievable torture or relish at how he was even awake to witness anything when Goku and ChiChi insisted on coming over on a brief visit with a 'special', Bulma had quoted when explaining, surprise.

He was back at the comforts of the Capsule Corporation, residing in his own lumpy, nevertheless cloud like bed, still shaken up mentally by the entire experience though he didn't show it but recovering well and he was more worried about Bulma who, though assured him she was fine, was wearing herself out day by day with lack of attention to herself.

She had a mattress kept in his room with a single pillow and blanket arranged comfortably against his cupboard, blockading the doorway inconveniently so that he couldn't sneak out through the door without waking her up and he didn't dare try the windows due to fear of her wrath, where she slept each night for about five to six hours for four consecutive nights already and she was at his restraining will the remaining hours she was awake, fetching him meals and anything else he required without question and when he didn't need anything she just sat with him in the room, sometimes reading a book or writing something down in draft but normally just drinking down one of several mugs of coffee, both of them silent most of the time but once or twice they had actually managed to strike a captivating conversation where Vegeta actually felt he wanted to speak.

She sat there now, at the edge of the window sill, reading a random novel with a blank cover so that he was unaware of the title, draining the contents of her mug, hyped up only on coffee and she had never seemed happier.

"**What are you reading?"** he asked after a while, leaning an inch forward, silence was getting to him and she seemed shocked that he had spoken, yet smiled as if glad that he had and folded her book to a close, placing her thumb in between to mark the pages, in her lap and staring down at it.

"**It's a Jane Austen novel…I don't normally read her but I guess this time life just isn't normal…so I just grabbed this book of my shelf this morning where's it's just been wasted away and well…I'm enjoying it…Jane Austen is quite a good read…"**

"**What's the title?"** Vegeta continued, edging forward further, not actually particularly interested in the informative details on the classic novel, just enjoying listening to her speak on.

"**It's called 'Pride and Prejudice' and it's quite the captivating read…you should pick it up if you get the time…"** she suggested out of thought and didn't happen to notice his disapproving frown as she picked up her mug again and sipped it once.

"**Won't you get sick if you keep drinking that stuff?"** he questioned lowly, trying not to sound too concerned but he couldn't stop himself from ultimately sitting up now, though against the bed, he wasn't sure how much closer he dared to venture. She grinned happily over at him before responding. **"I don't think so"** she hypothesized. **"It's the only thing helping me to go on…"**

"**How can you drink it?"** he continued, glad she was in a talkative mood, though he didn't want his happiness to be too apparent. **"I remember when I first had it…it was disgusting!"**

Bulma couldn't resist laughing a little even though Vegeta was being quite serious and he observed her laid back behavior, enjoying it immensely.  
**"I remember the first time you had coffee to…you spit it all over our lounge carpet just as I walked in through the door…Mom made me scrub it for hours, it didn't sell so well at our garage sale give off"** she reminded him thoughtfully and he felt the memory define itself in his mind. **"You looked like you thought it was disgusting…I guess that's why you spit it out! But you know…ever since that first day…I've always thought about it…why did you spit you're coffee out?"**

She had cornered him quite cleverly and he felt trapped and now he was desperate for a speedy alternative and so, with complete seriousness he responded with a, **"The colour of your hair just shocked me a bit; I'm not too accustomed to meeting ones with blue hair! It was shorter at that time though…"**

"**Oh yeah! It was!" **Bulma recollected, feeling her afro up and down. "**A pixie cut kind of thing…I liked that a lot but I decided to give the afro look a go!"**

"**Well, your current hair style merely terrifies me and I wish you would shave that thing off, you'd look better bald than have that monstrosity sucking on your skull!!"**

"**Do you really hate my hair that much?? It's not that bad, honestly!"** she cried in fake irritancy while he merely rolled his eyes at her dramatics, leaning closer, as if actually approaching her yet still protected by the covers.

"**It scared me from day one since outside that building"** he informed her expressionlessly, his mind flooding with that single memory when he had first seen her, staring over him from across the room with millions of people, how he had observed her when she had turned away, both of them oblivious of how their lives would collide so very amazingly, so terribly, and from day one she had been an unsolved mystery for him, a very confusing and complex mystery he was dying to piece the clues to, even if he didn't want her to realize all that just yet.

"**I see your getting better"** she commented good naturedly. **"You've gone right back to insulting me. Soon, if we're all lucky, you'll be back to bossing me about** **and I'll be back to shoving plates of pancakes in your face! At least that event was somewhat tasty!"**

She didn't stop smiling, her grin only grew warmer, more meaningful and Vegeta suddenly had the urge to sit up and touch her again but he refrained from it, still subjecting to his own laws, and the laws of a Saiyan.

'**A Saiyan and a human…it's not…not right! Let her be nice…I'll give her the dues she deserves and try not to pick on her but I can't do anything more…I refuse to be like Kakarot and subject to something as pathetic as love…but…she's so…so…no! I will not be weak! Love is weak! And I am NOT weak!'**

He continued to fight with these thoughts as she turned to look out the window, the sunlight streaming on her face and he instantly remembered her face when she had awoken and seen him staring at her in the hospital room, how she had suddenly starting crying, and then she had just hugged him, as if she thought he would slip back into a coma and Vegeta suddenly realized, that was probably what she afraid off, loosing him again.

"**I'm not going again" **he said aloud, causing her to whip around to face him, her face frowning lightly, shocked at what he had said.

"**What?"** she whispered, unable to regain her voice and so Vegeta repeated himself with more assurance.

"**I'm not going to leave again. I promise"** he stated as her eyes widened at his determination and he could see that he had just made her so much more relaxed, even if it did seem that she was soon to tear up. It had seemed to confirm it aloud would seem possibly weak but as he saw the calm in her features he felt more content with himself and so relaxed in his bed sheets, sinking into the duvet once again, intent on healing as fast as possible.

"**How long before I get to start training again?"** he asked lightly, arranging himself somewhat carefully expecting a sensible answer and not what he got in return.

"**Not any time soon if that's what you're thinking! You're forbidden to train for a month or so, until I decide you're well enough!"**

"**WHAT??"** He sat up as fast as possible, sure his ears were playing tricks on him because it just seemed as if Bulma had said he wasn't allowed to get out of bed for a month.

"**I have to stay, lying here in this bed like a demented idiot, for an entire month??"**

"**Don't be silly"** Bulma sighed sympathetically, shaking her head at his ridiculous analyzing. **"You'll be allowed to walk about and enjoy yourself in less than a week!"**

"**Then what do you mean by no training for an entire month?" **Vegeta inquired further, getting worked up about the entire situation and lack of explanation.

"**Exactly that"** Bulma confirmed his suspicions, setting aside her book carefully to the right of the sill, mug of coffee left to cool off as she strolled over to the side of his bed calmly and casually, placing her hands on his shoulders and began pushing him back down in his bed to rest despite his struggle to remain sitting up, her grip firm and strong. **"Just because you're out of bed doesn't mean you're going to be busting up damned robots and denting the gravity chamber that second. No! You're going to give it a rest and give yourself time to heal…properly. Besides, training isn't everything!"**

"**Oh really?"** Vegeta asked venomously, pretending he even cared, frustrated at this turn of events as he was pushed up against his soft cloud like pillows and forced to lie down, sinking into his mattress, with such ease it was frustrating but it was mostly the ultimate closeness Bulma had brought them at, how revealed and vulnerable he felt because she was touching him and it killed most devastatingly that truly angered him and he couldn't understand why it should do so. **"What do you suggest I do with all this free time you're forcing on me?"**

"**Well…"** Bulma began, releasing him so suddenly as she stood straight up to regain her regular composure, that he fell back into his bed with a shock but she hardly noticed as he sat back up, grumpier than ever and fuming as he threw his cover off himself, she was to busy thinking furiously hard, arms crossed across her chest, a frown displayed across her face. **"You could read…" **

She immediately felt dashed hopes at that prospect from the expression Vegeta gave her on the thoughts of him reading and carried on hurriedly. **"Or watch a bit of T.V. or you could just go flying about outside…we could go out to see a movie or to the beach! You could work on getting more clothes because no offense, you have a limited supply… I really don't know Vegeta…I don't exactly know what you enjoy apart from training and that is something you're not allowed to do!"**

Her finality was so firm Vegeta wondered whether it was wise to argue further but he just couldn't resist, it was temptation of the sweetest kind and he had absolutely no other way of toying around with her that wouldn't betray him.

"**How exactly do you plan on stopping me from training?"** he questioned slyly, thinking about times before when she threatened to do exactly that but had never actually succeeded, a fact she knew well.

"**Because I've already shut the gravity chamber off and we all know very well Vegeta that only my father and I can operate it so don't even think about doing it yourself!"**

He couldn't believe her nerve as she imitated his own smirk over at him, adding her own cunning and slightly more sinister feminine touch to so that it inflamed him to high extended limits and so he continued, hoping she would break up eventually under the pressure he hoped to catch her in between.

"**What if I blow the roof in? Then you'll have to switch it on!"**

Bulma sighed and Vegeta was absolutely sure she was about to give in but she surprised him once again.

"**You could do that…but I know for a fact that you won't…"** she mused, smiling to herself while Vegeta sat back in hi bed, not bothering to retrieve the floor ridden covers, bringing his arms to cross across his chest in annoyance, glowering, and to his utter humiliation he felt his cheeks flush ferociously…


	24. Dress And Tuxedo

Pride & Prejudice D

_**Pride & Prejudice **__**D.B.Z**_

_**Chapter Twenty Four **_

_Bulma gazed straight ahead at her misted reflection in the mirror, admiring her long silky blue strands of falling hair, the new improved version of her, one that would hopefully satisfy Vegeta's interests as opposed to her afro, the one that directed animosity of the worst kind from him._

_She had spent two hard earned whole hours attempting to straighten her cotton fluff of hair and then another one hour in the shower applying a number of varied conditioners and shampoos before spending yet another hour on straightening it once again with her steam iron tongs and then brushing it free of tangles, causing strands to be cruelly wrenched out so that she was nearly in tears from the pain, but it had all been worth it for now it was a smooth cascading waterfall down her back, effortlessly brushing and flowing along, feeling lighter than that gigantic mass had ever. She turned around once in front of the mirror, her hair billowing out magnificently, giving her falling diamond earrings a little flick, feeling the matching necklace that hung from her neck, admiring her emerald green silk dress, the sleeveless one that tied around her neck and came flowing out elegantly below her knees in graceful fans. _

_Making sure that everything was in check, from fashionable shoes to her highly manicured and perfected nail cuticles, she exited the room gracefully with a gentle skip and headed for the staircase, approaching the landing hesitantly as she stared down at Vegeta who was waiting impatiently at the foot, dressed up in a black tuxedo and not looking to pleased about it as he gazed about the lounge. She felt her heartbeat flutter slightly upon seeing him there, waiting for her, looking practically admirable in his tuxedo, despite the frown spread across his face and was forced to erase the thoughts from her mind just to focus and concentrate but found her sight locked on Vegeta, unable to veer away willingly they just couldn't tear themselves off, interpreting his expression._

_Bulma had to hold back a stifle of laughter upon seeing his face, all frustrated and irritated as he looked about the lounge, obviously having been waiting for her for quite a while, though he had nobody to sincerely blame, her being late had all been his fault after all due to his constant delays. She remembered their shopping expedition from yesterday, when she had dragged him off to the mall to pick a perfect dress for herself and a suit for him that would be suitable for the occasion that just happened to be Goku and ChiChi's engagement party._

_He had fussed so very much at each and every outlet, threatening to blow up several shops, scaring off customers of quite a few boutique's but Bulma had managed to cool him down each and every time with orders, consolations, bribes, pleas and once even threatened to fit him in one of her frilliest most girlish dresses if he didn't shut up. Of course, she'd only been joking but the look of terror that had passed across his face when she had said it had really been quite hilarious. In the end they had managed to find the perfect set for him to wear, with just one problem and that was that Vegeta just didn't understand the concept of a tuxedo, the formality it was meant to hold. _

_When she had come out of her warm soothing shower in her light green gown, a clashing baby pink towel wrapped around her hair, blue strand escaping from underneath so that her entire over look was colorfully distorted, shivering to death she had to stand dripping in the hallway, undoing all of Vegeta's messed up buttoning of his shirt when she saw him trying to get away with it, before doing it over and then ordering him to unfold his sleeves, which he did very disgruntled, before buttoning his cuffs._

_She'd then hoped to go change into something warmer and dry off but just as she was blow drying her hair he needed her help in something else. With her hair standing up in a fuzz ball, messier than any afro she had donned, she had to help him with his jacket which needed ironing once again, before arranging his corsage so that the pin wasn't stabbing him annoyingly in the chest constantly._

_Only ten minutes later she was back in the hallway, looking completely messed up, still in her gown, buttoning his cuffs once again before fixing his bow tie which he claimed was being a nuisance to which she had stated that unless he wanted her to go to the party looking the way she did with him, still in her bath wear and hair sticking out oddly everywhere, he should stop complaining immediately and just go downstairs and not touch himself. He had taken one look at her from bare toed feet to her monstrous head of hair and immediately went downstairs, telling her to hurry up as he went slow jogging down, hands buried away in his pockets, trying hard not to turn back.. _

_Well, now she was ready, in a much better state then last time Vegeta had seen her and he confirmed this by looking up at her, mouth half open to yell over some sort of atrocity or insult when he was stuck mid breath and gaping, his eyes widened immensely upon seeing her. He was motionless for a moment or so, flinching only slightly as she strolled down the steps and seemed to be struggling to speak, his eyes basically focusing on her hair, trailing down, realizing it was all pure and real and he was only able to speak when she had come and stood in front of him, smiling up at him pleasantly, taking in his form while he took in hers._

"**Your…hair?"**_ he uttered in confusion, barely able to form the words he was trying to understand if what he was seeing was even existent._

"**So you like it?"**_ she asked, enjoying herself at his complete shock, shaking her head a little so that her hair swayed from left to right, causing him to gape further open mouthed._

"**What happened to your…your…your…?"**_ he stuttered, still not believing and Bulma started to actually feel sorry for him and his inability to understand her hair's transformation. _

"**My hair Vegeta…my hair"**_ she teased, tossing a few strands behind her that had gone stray and Vegeta's eyes simply grew wider, his throat dry. _**"I just straightened it"**_ she smiled, placing one hand on his shoulder, grinning expectantly as she brought her hand sliding down to finger his corsage to a more preferable position. _**"You have no idea what a desperate girl can do with a couple of conditioners…do you?"**

_Vegeta remained utterly speechless as Bulma released him and passed by, trying to locate the house keys that her parents had left for her somewhere in the kitchen before going off to some 'External Robotic Shelling' convention far off from their area so that they were unable to attend the engagement party, finding them in the cookie jar, obviously the work of her slightly confused father before getting hold of the keys to her hover car and walking back out into the hallway where Vegeta stood exactly where he had been, exactly as he had been, unchanged and unmoved._

"**Are you just going to keep standing their Vegeta or are we going to get to this party?"**_ she called over her shoulder as she undid the latch on the main door, swinging it open, letting the fresh summer breeze in before gazing over at him as he regained his composure and came strolling over, avoiding meeting eye contact with her or even looking her way, exiting rather gracefully and Bulma couldn't help but think it, it just came to her. She just always seemed to think, right from day one when he'd first walked past her that he was very graceful, despite her trying to deny it from day one. She remembered that occasion vividly, despite it being nearly five months ago, when Vegeta had spent his first night in her house, when she had found him in her bedroom because her mother had 'accidentally' left him their for her to find, how she had screamed hell out of herself to see him there and how he told her to basically shut up to which she had obeyed before an insuring argument had taken place, involving some damage to the ceiling. She couldn't believe how much had changed since then, it was all so unsettling so she shook it out of her head and followed him out the door, locking it behind her, intent on having a great time, not focusing on trivialities better left undisturbed._

_Taking the drivers seat in her hover car she waited for Vegeta to settle himself in the passenger seat comfortably before telling him to put his belt on._

"**Why?"**_ was all he asked in a strictly cold voice and so Bulma had to plunge into the details of driving and the basic laws of it all, except before she could really engorge herself into the monologue Vegeta interrupted her by going, _**"If you stop talking I'll put the seat belt on and won't argue about it"**_ and she couldn't dare pass that rare opportunity and so dutifully remained quiet on the subject. _

_Switching the ignition on with a burst of fulfillment, the engine roared wildly and she immediately, without second thought, stomped down on the pedal, and the hover car sped off into the air, at twice the maximum speed. Taking the route she normally took when heading for the Kame House she trailed on furiously, wondering about what the night held in store for both of them, not noticing the look of terror on Vegeta's face at the manic of her driving. _

_She was so thrilled, so ecstatic that Goku and ChiChi were now officially one. It had been at least 'official' for two weeks now, since they had both announced with jubilance that they were getting married. Bulma remembered how she and Vegeta had been randomly talking about some things concerning the past, things she rather enjoyed talking to him about though she probably thought it best not to fantasize on her thoughts, she basically loved talking to him about anything at all really, when he was still confined to bed and how they had directed themselves into an argument on when Vegeta would resume training. He hadn't been very happy about having to stall training for an entire month but before either of them could really dwell on the idea much longer than necessary Goku and ChiChi had popped by with a special surprise to Bulma's pleasure and Vegeta's exasperation._

_After badgering a befuddled Vegeta about his health with concern ChiChi had made a point of extending her hand and showing both of them the same golden ring with the diamond stud inserted in it displayed on her ring finger that Goku had shown Bulma when he had first returned from his thought session up in the mountains. Bulma had immediately started screaming in delight and hugging ChiChi, both of them screaming on the top of their voices while Vegeta made a foreboding attempt to somehow congratulate Goku who had walked over to the side of his bed, blushing to his roots in red as he tried to hear Vegeta above their shrieking._

_After that, it was all uphill with the four of them cooped up in Vegeta's bedroom, one of them still in bed, the three of them sitting cross legged on Bulma's mattress, Goku eating down a bowl of noodles, listening to everything she and ChiChi had to say on wedding ideas and lists and brainstorms while Vegeta pretended he wasn't dying, merely going through a form of simply light torture. It was Goku who had insisted between heavy mouthfuls that the engagement party be at the Kame House because Master Roshi had persisted on the subject and in the end that seemed like the best place, with all the memories it held. They also planned the engagement party later than expected; two entire weeks from the actual proposal because they weren't in any rush as it was and the actual wedding itself would be a week after the engagement party, lengthy yet peaceful distance. _

_Assembling the list of guests came as the best part; there were so many distant friends they all needed to reunite with once again and this was the perfect time to do it. Goku also forced Vegeta into agreeing he would come with Bulma, no matter what, even if Vegeta had to be brought into a wheelchair which Vegeta had stated, would not be necessary. He wasn't much into the entire marriage, with his Saiyan discipline it was considerably understandable and Bulma couldn't help but admire him for accepting all of this, with the exception of the tuxedo, with a straight face and no firm ignorance. Glancing over at him as she drove on over the peaceful ocean she took in all the features of his unique face, his profile highlighted from the moonlight that was seeping in through the windows as they went over the sea, heading for the designated island. It was beautiful sight beheld for her and that tuxedo he had on was only doing splendid favors for him, his hair flaming out with energetic spikes so that she wished she could run her hands through it care free once again without anything to worry about, to trail her fingers down the skin of his face, down that familiar looking cut he had on the side that curved downwards in a slant, that she always found so very curious to stare at, knowing that she had seen one like his before though where, she could not determine clearly enough. He finally looked over at her, frowning slightly as he asked, _**"What are you staring at?"**

"**Nothing"**_ Bulma muttered. _**"I'm just glad I got you into that tux. It does wonders for you!"**

_Just as she said this they had approached the island and so she gradually began working on landing the hover car which came to a gentle stop in the comforts of the sandy surface…_


	25. Dinner Time Monstrocity

Pride & Prejudice D

_**Pride & Prejudice **__**D.B.Z**_

_**Chapter Twenty Five**_

Vegeta winced slightly, mostly out of displeasure as Goku patted him on the back after making a joke he didn't quite understand, though it must have been humorous because everyone else around was laughing at it.

"**Do you two want to sit down?"** ChiChi asked with a giggle and gestured leftwards after Bulma had gotten over the comical relation, to Vegeta's relief, and began to lead them over to an empty, conveniently positioned in a distant and silent corner yet not completely isolated table.

The Kame House looked unrecognizable that night, the wooden paneling floor for once clearly seen, cleaned with polish so that reflections were audibly visible, Chinese red paper lanterns lit about and strung up randomly, bobbing above there heads, pushed up and down by the blockading ceiling, round cream colored cloth covered tables with matching tall standing wicker chairs decking the entire place, nothing else but, and they circled around an area that opened out to the actual nighttime scenery outside, the delicate papery screen shutters and been pulled open to reveal the peacefully ascending waves that could be heard serenely slightly over the low yet peaceful music, the twinkling stars blinking back at them, dotting the sky magnificently, the moon a glowing magically white orb and Vegeta felt the urge to look up at it, taking in it's glory and presence, realizing that it had been sometime since he had ever actually stopped to gaze up at it with appreciation, it truly deserved the credit to it's due.

Goku explained that this opening space would make a perfect dance floor for later on before pointing out ChiChi's masterpiece and the most appealing part of the entire party in his not so restricted opinion, the buffet table set up on one side, piled with many different delicacies, a ball of a dinner time pick out, so many unique and exotic foods laid the table, smelling equally exquisite.

Finding the table to be near the dance floor centre ChiChi set up the two of them sitting across from each other comfortably before having to run to her father who had had an overdose of wine and was doing the tango with poor Krillin who had only just been chatting to Master Roshi, so that Goku was left to entertain them.

"**You guys can go ahead and stuff yourselves at the buffet table! I'm telling you, that stuffs amazing. In fact…"** Goku eyed the table hungrily just as Bulma got up once again as fast as possible, while Vegeta remained seated, not exactly listening, he was eying the place critically but had yet to come up with any serious flaws, not just lame excuses which he knew never to stoop so low to.

"**Hold on big boy. Let us go first. I wouldn't want to bring my plate over there and find the table stripped!"** she chided, gesturing for Vegeta to get up as well and follow her and when he didn't, to lost in his own inducing thoughts, she grabbed his hand with swift motion and whipped him out of his chair unexpectedly and he only just managed to gain consciousness from his day dream as he was suddenly flung out of his chair and snatch his plate up, scowling and rolling his eyes over at Goku who had begun laughing hidden guffaws at the pair of them and the dramatic scene unraveling between them.

At long last, when they had crossed the room, arriving at the base of the long extending splendor of the buffet, Bulma's grip remaining ever so firm on his wrist he finally had to force himself to take action.

"**Could you let go?" **he began with much reluctance in a hoarse voice and when she refused to let go, not even looking at him, she was muttering something to herself unceremoniously, he had to pull her towards him and raise his arm up, indicating her tight clasp with irritancy and a brevity of annoyance in the movement of his eyes. **"Let go"** he briefly stated without change in his expression concerning his face but his tone was not exactly nasty or threatening, rather a naturally comic tone and with widened eyes Bulma realized her fingers were still wrapped clingingly onto Vegeta's wrist, nails digging into his flesh perceptively and with not much else to do in her position she blushed a deep arousing flush as she pried her fingers off sheepishly before taking one step back to assure him that he was free of her grip and smiled up at him humorously.

"**Better?"**

Not knowing how to respond to her strange out of place one worded question he merely nodded briefly before strolling past her in a hurry, the situation was becoming much to heated for him to handle, and stand himself at one side of the buffet table while Bulma rounded around right across purposely so that they were face to face with only the dishes and table between them and he felt his cheeks burn so that he had to look directly down so Bulma wouldn't notice. He couldn't seem to get over how brilliantly dazzling she was looking tonight in that graceful dress of hers, how beautiful her face looked with that perfectly aligned, gleaming attractive smile and sparkling blue eyes that made her diamonds seem faded and her hair; her hair was what had him stunned, silky and falling, wavy, light and smooth. No matter how hard he ordered himself not to he couldn't help thinking about how extraordinarily amazing she looked tonight and it was torture for him to have to remind himself that she was out of bounds, limited and that he should regain some self-control.

"**Wow Vegeta" **Bulma commented after a few seconds, startling him a bit when she did. **"You seem to find that rice very…interesting. You haven't looked away once…"** She grinned and leaned forward so that their faces where barely an inch close and pretended to look down at the dish of rice that Vegeta had seemed to be admiring in his state of sub-consciousness, he had been captivate din such forms a lot that night.

"**My mistake. How could I think this was just ordinary rice? Obviously this is very special"** she teased while Vegeta resumed to filling his plate and carried on exasperated, growling a bit in hopes of expressing his discomfort in a clear hint, desperate to return his complexion back to normal as Bulma also carried on so that they were once again face to face, except this time over a steaming pot of boiling chicken.

"**What are you doing?"** he finally asked, irritated, trying to keep his eyes focused on his plate but eventually they had to look up and met with hers.

"**Enjoying myself…thoroughly…how about you?"** she whispered, not blinking once and Vegeta felt his heart pound ferociously in his chest, hammering it, beating, and drumming. Not daring to answer he proceeded as fast as possible, grabbing whatever he could in a hurry before making a mad walking sprint to the table they'd been assigned to, thumping his plate down, head spinning as he veered his head around, searching for Bulma, wherever she might have been. It took her some time but eventually she joined him, sitting across from him, took one look at what was on his plate and her eyes widened in horror as she backed up in her chair, as if she was trying to hold the urge to scream.

"**What is on your plate Vegeta?"** she demanded in a stuttering voice, pointing a shaking finger over at him and he glanced down, checking for the first time what he was planning to eat. Atop his pile of rice was some boiled chicken which would have been perfectly acceptable if it didn't have stir fry mixed into it along with mashed potatoes, peas, excess of spicy gravy, halved boiled eggs, cream caramel and melted vanilla ice cream with carrot cake crumbs in its consistency and a few other particles of finger sandwiches.

"**This is how all Saiyans eat"** Vegeta lied without thinking, not wanting to admit to the actual reason, that it was in fact entirely her fault for distracting him that he now had this monstrosity on his plate.

"**I don't think even Goku would eat that!"** Bulma exclaimed, leaning forward a bit and turning her head several ways to have a look at all the food, trying to analyze exactly what was what.

"**That's because only Saiyan royalty were subject to such a…delicacy"** he continued before plunging his fork into all the several types of food and taking a huge bite and began chewing, holding back any expression of pure disgust and the desire to spit it all out while Bulma looked like she herself might puke.

"**See"** he pointed out, trying to appear as if he had never tasted anything more heavenly delicious in his life, an acting role he was sure deserved first prize for he hadn't yet betrayed himself.

"**You're actually eating it?"** she mumbled, poking at her own food, something that actually looked edible, with her fork unable to believe it as he continued chewing before swallowing it as fast as possible, envying her for lucking out as he eyes the contents of her plate eagerly.

"**Of course! I prefer to eat this way as opposed to the way you earthlings devour food…this is eaten much more easily and it's…enjoyable…"**

Bulma gave him one more suspicious look before plunging into her own food and Vegeta was able to pull one face as she bent her head before setting to the task of eating everything on the plate.

Twenty minutes later he sat in front of an empty dish, his stomach killing him as Bulma observed him with wonderment in her eyes, amazed at his determination.

"**You actually did it! Ate the entire thing on that plate! I can't believe you! Just to keep your pride!"** she laughed and he raised his eyebrows, trying to understand if he had honestly heard what she had just said.

"**What do you mean? I'm used to this" **he uttered, massaging his stomach behind the table cloth as it gurgled as if he had drunk down acid.

"**Sure you are Vegeta"** Bulma assured him sarcastically, folding her arms across her chest and he couldn't believe how badly he had failed. **"Do you honestly believe I bought that whole Saiyan royalty delicacy lie? How stupid do you think I am?"**

Vegeta made a point of opening his mouth to honestly answer that question when Bulma raised her finger in a warning sign.

"**Don't even go there Vegeta"** she cautioned before sitting back and grinning in triumph, arms crossed defensively across her chest as she smirked over at him and he felt that tinge of anger inside of him. **"What you will do to keep from embarrassing yourself…it's hilarious!"**

"**If you knew I was lying why you didn't just tell me so?"** he demanded, annoyed that now he had to suffer from this disastrous stomach ache. **"I ate that entire lump of crap for nothing!"**

"**Hey, don't blame me Vegeta! You're the one who couldn't admit you just got distracted for a while and that's why you totally didn't pay any attention to what the hell you were slopping up on your plate!"**

"**Who said I was distracted? I was most definitely not distracted!"** he assured her in a forceful voice, the lie so pathetically seen through he wish he would just stop.

"**You were clearly distracted Vegeta…the results are being digested in your stomach!"** she contradicted in a disbelieving voice.

"**I was NOT distracted woman!"** he firmly concluded, voice slightly raised but only so that she heard and she seemed quite disturbed by the finality. It then occurred to Vegeta that they hadn't actually argued since he had awoken from his coma, had been on peaceful terms and he had actually liked it that way.

To make matters worse, in through the front doors of the Kame House, dressed up in a tuxedo, giving his pink corsage a little flick, entered the last person he expected to see ever again…Yamcha…


	26. A Punch To Your Face

Pride & Prejudice D

_**Pride & Prejudice **__**D.B.Z**_

_**Chapter Twenty Six**_

_Bulma felt her heart sink down deep into the pit of her stomach as Vegeta ended the argument with his final words and somehow, despite her being exposed quite enough to his anger in all the worst possible moments of vulnerability, it hurt really deep this time, literally cut a slash through her. He hadn't actually raised his voice with her for a while, ever since he'd woken up from that coma she had dreaded and if memory served it's purpose, even before, since the day he'd come to her rescue so ceremoniously he hadn't once shown his anger against her, hadn't once yelled at her, been harsh or nasty and had even spoke to her quite often when nobody else was around and it honestly seemed as if he had been enjoying himself momentarily. This sudden change in him over the few minutes however dashed cruelly to one side any hopes that he might possibly be lightening up towards her, might possibly start to like her and sometimes, when she let her daydreams wander of to far she wondered whether it was possible that he might actually, in the slightest way, love her. _

_She brought her eyes to meet with his but he wasn't looking at her at all, his eyes were transfixed clearly on something that was apparently behind her and whatever it was, it had him clearly burning with loathsome anger._

"**Vegeta?"**_ she questioned lightly as she saw his hands gradually clench into binding yet shaking fists and as soon as she read the hatred in his eyes that she was given the indication and whipped around in foreboding within her chair, her own eyes ablaze as she saw Yamcha enter the room, looking perfectly welcomed and wanted._

"**What is he doing here?"**_ she muttered to herself, anger consuming her and she felt her fingertips burn when he looked her way, and even more so when he gave her a well aimed wink. If that wasn't enough, he was actually walking over to their table, a point at which Bulma immediately sensed trouble and switched over to observe Vegeta who looked prepared to wring Yamcha's neck as soon as he was within distance._

"**Oh no…"**_ she mumbled as she saw Vegeta get ready to plunge into action, a temple bursting in his forehead and at the last minute grabbed hold of his hand across the table so that he was forced to look over in her direction, murderous that she was daring to stop him. _

"**Let go…"**_ he ordered vehemently under his breath and she could feel the tension in his hand, his very vein pulsating with fury, bubbling under his very skin, making her simply hold on even tighter, squeezing his hand convincingly to give him some sort of moral support._

"**No Vegeta"**_ she whispered back, trying to hold him down as Yamcha grew ever so closer, speeding up her protest as much as possible. _**"Not now…please not now"**

"**Have you lost your mind?" **_he questioned, his eyes becoming slits, looking dangerously through her and she paled at the sight of his animosity so vibrantly growing. _**"I'm going to kill him right here, right now and nobody's going to stop me!"**

_He began to pull his hand, growing forceful until Bulma grew desperate and held onto his entire arm with both her hands, trying to lean over the table to speak to him, pressing her stomach down on the surface as he edged closer to hear what she was mouthing towards him, fury and malice throbbing inside of him, he wasn't in the mood for petty consultations but even so, he listened to her, even if it was with impatience._

"**Please Vegeta…don't do it…not now…"**_ she begged and he stopped pulling but only to lean towards her and demand why exactly he wasn't out their murdering Yamcha as brutally as possible._

"**I know you're desperate for revenge…I understand you want to hurt him…"**_ she sympathized as he pierced her with his glare, waiting for a valid answer. _**"But in your attempt to gain what is rightfully yours you'll simply end up destroying the party and this is a very special night for Goku and ChiChi and I know you don't approve of such relationships…" **_It hurt her to mention that part because it was as if she was confirming that he didn't approve of any relationship they might have had a long time ago. _**"…but please reconsider this time and back down…I want their night to go perfect tonight so please…"**

_She trailed of pleading and they were so close now that she could see Vegeta's wrinkles in his forehead deepen with thought and to her shock he nodded shortly before saying, _**"Fine"**_ and then leaning back and Bulma did the same, her hands tracing down his arm back to his hand and she couldn't resist; she cupped it within her own, entwining his fingers between her own, hands clasped together as she gushed with the warmth and he didn't pull away in the least._

"**I wasn't expecting to see you here Vegeta…I heard you were in confinement…hope your feeling better"**

_Yamcha stood at the table, looking very proud of himself as he masked a smile down at them but neither Bulma nor Vegeta made an attempt to hide their true feelings, though Vegeta merely pretended he hadn't heard anything whereas Bulma was compelled to suddenly rebel._

"**What the hell are you doing here?"**_ Bulma muttered hatefully, squeezing Vegeta's hand tighter, more to comfort herself then actually prevent Vegeta from doing anything rash._

"**I was invited if your wondering whether I hi-jacked anybody to get here, Bulma"**_ he informed her and it was as if he had spit her name is distaste, not the way he used to say it, as if it meant the world to him._

"**I wouldn't put it past you Yamcha"**_ she replied, her own anger rising and she couldn't blame Vegeta for wanting to murder him._

"**Looks like you two are having fun"**_ Yamcha stated, changing the subject and his gaze fell upon their hands and blazed up. _**"Getting along I see…"**

_Bulma couldn't keep her self control any longer, despite her constant forcing of Vegeta to back down and though she felt like a filthy hypocrite it was all she could do to stop herself from imitating Vegeta's hopes on action. Getting to her feet as fast as possible, letting Vegeta's hand slip out from hers she grabbed hold of Yamcha's arm, leaving Vegeta to simply stare after them, smirking to himself at the scene they were causing and knowing he wasn't a part of it, and dragged Yamcha across the room to a deserted corner a little off the buffet table before setting him against the wall, their faces so close that their noses were just about touching but there was no warmth, only ice between their bodies as Bulma forced him back, pinning his by his shoulders. _

"**You stay away from us…we are through Yamcha and nothing you do or say, including trying to put Vegeta into a coma, will make me come back to you…as if such twisted corruption could ever have brought me back to you…you could have killed him!!"**_ she whispered furiously, it was all blurting out in furious rushes._

"**So you figured it out?" **_Yamcha played along. _**"I really didn't think I'd left that many clues but then again…you are the famous Bulma Briefs of Capsule Corporation…I shouldn't have put it past your brilliant mind…it shouldn't matter though…there's no proof except of course of the claims made by someone clearly not thinking straight after his little…episode…"**_he mused, bringing a hand up to finger a few strands of her hair lovingly, playfully letting them glide along and Bulma was so paralyzed at what he was doing she couldn't even stop him. _**"You straightened your hair…it looks better this way…"**

"**How dare you come here and act as if we've all just forgiven you!! I will never look at you and feel as if I'm not staring at the enemy Yamcha for as far as I am concerned, I'd rather have nothing to do with you…you could have taken Vegeta away for ever!!"**

"**So that's it, isn't it Bulma?" **_Yamcha suddenly announced, but only for her to hear._** "What does your beloved 'Wonder Prince' have that's so very special? Why are you so in love with him when I can give you whatever you want?"**_ he contradicted in an equally low yet deathly voice. _

"**Except I don't want you, do I Yamcha? I don't want you any more …we're over…and for your information I'd rather have 'Wonder Prince' than you!"**

"**So you do love him?"**_ Yamcha sparked up. _**"I can't believe you of all people would love Vegeta! Honestly, you love him?"**

"**Yes, Yamcha"**_ Bulma answered without thinking. _**"I do love Vegeta…that's the end of it…and I didn't exactly appreciate you trying to do away with him!"**

"**God Bulma! I mean, I thought he was the one in love with you…after all, why'd he come to fight me if not for you? Ever thought of that?"**

_Bulma was left speechless as he pointed this out and it was this opportunity that Yamcha decided to inflame her further, just for the fun of it and began to drag his fingers out of her blue flowing hair, soothingly down her cheek, rubbing it gently and Bulma couldn't understand how he was seducing her so easily, his touch just felt so warm and invigorating and then she realized what was happening to her and in a moment of immediate horror, slapped his hand away from her face._

"**Don't EVER touch me!! EVER!! I don't want you near me!!"**_ she breathed harshly in his face, backing up a little, the closeness was starting to actually emotionally hurt her inside with irrevocable pain._

"**What Bulma, has Vegeta reserved you for himself or something? And I thought you were one of those 'independent' women like you always claim to be…I guess it makes sense you would prefer a weakling…he put up a sad fight you know… a little bloody anesthesia…you should have seen the state he was in…not your big bad Saiyan Prince… just lying there helpless…it was pathetic…how could you like that? How could you even-"**

_Yamcha was roughly cut off as Bulma's fist came in swift contact with his jaw, sending his face into the wall in a bloody mess of a nosebleed she had caused._

"**You're SICK!" **_she erupted in his ear before turning on her heel and marching back to the table when somebody caught her round the shoulders and spun her around and she was suddenly facing Goku._

"**Hi Goku…having fun…**_ she mumbled distraught that he had seen her punch Yamcha if anything could be indicated by his worried _**"Ugh Bulma…did you just punch Yamcha in the face?"**_ and Bulma couldn't help but laugh a little as she envisioned his frightful expression, recollecting the pain she had instilled in him all over again._

'**Yes Goku…yes I did"**_ she admitted just as ChiChi walked over to them, observed Bulma laughing and Goku paling and went _**"I don't even want to know. Listen Bulma…Goku and I are****going to start the couples dancing"**

"**We are?"**_ Goku asked in signature confusion and ChiChi gave him a sharp look to which he silenced before resuming._

"**I was wondering if you could also pair up and come on to the dance floor?"**_ she ended off and when Bulma looked at her in question she elaborated. _**"Go grab Vegeta and start dancing!"**

"**What?? You want me to slow dance with Vegeta??"**_ she questioned aloud before clapping a hand over her mouth in humiliation at having said this aloud and ChiChi took this moment to carry out a very self made on the spot two second plan and that was to grab hold of Bulma's hand and drag her across the room, reach out for a very surprised and unsuspecting Vegeta's hand and drag him along before letting go of both their hands in the middle of room, pushing Bulma literally into his arms and grabbing hold of Goku and dancing to the slow beat music that was playing, mouthing an _**"Enjoy"**_ in Bulma's direction who was feeling quite relaxed in Vegeta's arms._

"**Oh, hey Vegeta, haven't seen you in a while!"**_ Bulma commented he irony ecstatically, euphoria consuming her as she grew more attached to her current dance partner, forming a position for herself to permanently rest in if her hopes ever prevailed._

"**What the hell is going on?"**_ Vegeta wondered aloud in annoyance, having been grabbed and pulled several times in a time span of possibly only an hour and it was starting to get to him._

"**Well…I think we're supposed to be dancing"**_ Bulma informed him lightly, placing her arms around his neck and starting to sway, gesturing for him to do likewise._

"**I refuse to dance" **_he committed firmly but Bulma was swaying so much he had to move to get comfortable and in the end she had him with his arms around her waist, dancing, not enjoying it but definitely trying._

"**I can't believe Kakarot!"**_ he muttered after a while and Bulma looked up at him, she was suddenly short in his arms as they groped around her unintentionally, as they slowly rotated around amongst the other gathering couples. _

"**Why?"**_ she asked as she ran her hands through his hair and he actually looked down to speak to her so that his warm breath fell directly on her face and it felt so amazing._

"**For inviting that idiot! How could he? That pitiful ass tried to put me in a bloody coma!" **_he riveted on and Bulma tried as best as she could to comfort the situation._

"**Well…think about it Vegeta! Once upon a time you were trying to kill Goku, right? And here you are, his second in lead for dancing at his engagement party! **

"**That's…that's completely besides the point! The situations are irrelevant from each other" **_he argued but she had him beat and she knew it._

"**Never mind it…I took care of him for now…" **_she consoled warmly, smiling to herself, wondering what would have happened, had the scene been made public._

"**I saw exactly how…your punch was slightly off but still very affective since he was bleeding serious hell"**_ he informed her with a smirk and Bulma smiled with much ease as she brought her head to lean on his chest, closing her eyes as they continued to slow dance gracefully around._

"**Let's just forget about all that tonight**_ she chided softly as Vegeta's grasp grew slightly tighter around her and her arms slid down, grabbing hold of his._

"**Let's just enjoy ourselves…"**


	27. Shall We Dance?

Pride & Prejudice D

_**Pride & Prejudice **__**D.B.Z**_

_**Chapter Twenty Seven**_

Vegeta felt his head spin considerably as he pushed the wooden front door open with exceeded effort and plunged outside, the salty sea air making him feel nauseous as he slipped down the steps, unable to support himself properly, and fell into the soft blowing sand. Staggering to his feet, dizzy all over and his vision doubled he wobbled over to the wall of the Kame House and fell against it, leaning his back towards it to support himself as he clutched his head with one shaking hand, trying to make sense of what had been happening to him since the last hour, it was all so difficult to recall as his throat burned a little.

"**I was dancing"** he managed to mutter, laughing to himself as he remembered who exactly he had been dancing with before triggering his memory further for more clues. **"Then that bald guy…what the hell was his name…and Kakarot…they were giving out something to drink…yeah…and I had some…it was so bloody** **good, I loved it…and then there was more dancing…"**

He rubbed his forehead, relieving himself of the oncoming tension of a headache and tried to get his thoughts in chronological order, trying not to sidetrack with other things, unable to understand what exactly he had experienced and whether he'd ever want to again. Sinking to the ground, pushing strands of hair out of his eyes briskly he looked down at his shirt, the first three buttons undone and his folded up sleeves all messed up. His jacket had gone missing inside at some point though he wasn't sure whether it was before the second round of dancing or after. Leaning his head back, his spikes of his hair falling out everywhere from the gravity rejecting mass, he closed his eyes and reminded himself of the thrills, how much poisonous fun he'd had dancing and then he was forced to think about how sick he'd felt from excess of whatever it was that he'd drunk up, dunked down, over and over, glasses and glasses and glasses…

"**Shit…I'm drunk…"** he uttered, half disgusted with himself for going crazy just by drinking down some possessive liquid since that was just a weak thing to subject to, half still hyped up from the dancing so that he was being pulled up inside in between both feelings. His memory was clear all the way up to the point where he'd been forced to slow dance with Bulma by a certain ChiChi and she'd been hugging onto him the whole time, ever so close.

"**Bulma…" **he whispered, lost within inducing thoughts of her, how beautiful she was, how very beautiful and such an amazing dancer…so very very beautiful…he should have told her she looked beautiful when they were dancing and he should have danced better…been more into it…put more effort, and better yet…he should have gone ahead and kissed her…that's what he'd wanted to do the whole time…pull her in his arms and make her his forever…kiss her until she was limp…until she couldn't get enough of him…kiss her over and over because he knew for a fact he'd never grow tired… especially if she wanted it and he knew it…she wanted him bad…she wanted him to kiss her…could see it so clearly in her eyes when they were holding on to each other so why didn't he kiss her? It was the perfect moment…everyone else was kissing each other…all around them were lips on lips…couples completely and utterly hooked onto each other… Kakarot and his mate were going insane in a corner…so he could have easily kissed her…it would have been perfect…so very perfect just to simply reach in…bring his head down…bring his lips to hers…slowly…until they were just touching…

"**NO! NO! NO!"** Vegeta yelled, pounding his fists into the sand, clouds billowing up from the surface at his uncontrolled force, escaping from his fantasies, disbelieving at their desires. **"I'M GOING INSANE! I'VE LOST IT!!"**

He couldn't believe he'd wanted all that needed all that and had nearly proven it all within that one hour of insanity. How much damage had he created for himself, he was oblivious to that fact but he must have done something ridiculous inside if this was the after affect of him getting drunk.

Gazing up at the clear night sky, each speck of a star visible he began recalling how it had all begun, how when he and Bulma had pulled apart for a while from slow dancing that Goku had come over with a tray, offering drinks with his typical grin, joyful as always so that Vegeta was feeling particularly foul and bugged towards him but Bulma hadn't noticed this mistreatment between the two of them and had happily taken a glass to refresh herself with, sadly not questioning Goku what the familiarity of the substance had been, discovering it the hard way. Quenched from thirst he had taken a glass to and made the tragic mistake of taking a sip and finding it quite tempting, the main goal and purpose of the heavy liquor. How many several glasses later everyone left at the Kame House had basically lost sensibility and emerged on to the dance floor with their loved ones, their dates, their partners and resumed dancing, though completely opposite to any slow dancing that had occurred before. In fact, it was so rough, so bustling, so crowded with everyone dancing everywhere he had almost missed the slow dancing, that was, until he'd seen Bulma, isolated from the crowd, gulping down glass after glass, solo in her efforts, looking positively gorgeous and he had the craziest desire to just bring her over, to be his partner and as soon as he'd drunk down two to three glasses more to maybe burst up his thrill, though it was only damaging his sanity and morale, he strolled over to her and took her in his arms, carrying her off to the dance floor before putting her on her feet and then bringing his arms round her body, loving the way her hair was feeling, slipping in between his exploring fingers as she brought her arms once again around his neck, fingering his hair, pressing her body comfortably against his, perfectly fine with him whisking her off and forcing her down here to be with him and basically, after that he was unable to proceed.

Half of it was still foggy in his mind and the other half was so shameful towards his ego he refused to dwell back on his feelings and more importantly, Bulma.

"**How could I do this?"** he sighed, angry for submitting to his weak feelings, though before, they hadn't seemed weak at all, in fact, had felt like the strongest part of him. **"How could I possibly let myself do this? It's weak… wrong…very wrong…"**

Suddenly, before Vegeta could continue cursing random things off thought and actions, the door burst open once again with a crash and Vegeta sat up alert, observing the next victim of the alcohol induced drink and to his pleasure and his despair, Bulma came out tripping, slipping over the steps as she stumbled down hiccupping and bare foot, clutching her aching head with one hand, the other holding on to her heels, all her articles of clothing still intact though, which Vegeta was thankful for because if they hadn't been he wasn't sure how much he'd have been able to withstand.

She looked very put off, queasy and sickened and it didn't take Vegeta long to realize what was about to happen as she moronically strolled about in circles, quite lost and dazed, heavily intoxicated obviously and he quickly got to his feet as fast as was possible with his own aching mind sending bursts of pain through his nerves but even so he managed to catch her in his arms when she collapsed out of fatigue as well as dizziness.

"**Vegeta?"** she questioned lightly, confused yet smiling as she recognized him while he retraced his steps backwards so that he could go back to leaning against the wall, still holding her so she wouldn't fall.

"**Wow Vegeta"** she sighed as he let out a breath of sleepiness, clearly not knowing what was going on with her. **"You are so attractive up close…"**

Vegeta's eyes widened as he heard this and his gaze darted down to her face which was still smiling lovingly, her eyes sparkling up at him though the lids were half closed over, her eyelashes daintily falling downwards.

"**You're not…feeling well"** Vegeta began softly, trying to get hold of her in a more sensible way in case anybody else showed up before resuming as gently as possible, not wanting to break her in her fragile state. **"You don't mean what you're saying… you're just slightly drunk"**

"**I love you Vegeta"** she ended off melodiously hugging onto him as tight as she could so that Vegeta's mind went spinning, telling him to regain control while his heart beat went faster, speeding on, telling him to enjoy it and just go with the harmonious flow of what her vocal were singing towards him.

"**You're confused…very confused…because that can't be true"** he uttered with a gulp, hoping suddenly that it was true, despite all his firm restrictions.

"**Of course it's true…I'll prove it"** she chided playfully, before suddenly standing up on her tip toes and cupping his face with her hands, looking straight into his black eyes with her bluer ones with complete assured confidence before softly pressing her lips against his more unprepared ones.

Vegeta's mind was bursting with a cornucopia of unexplainable thoughts in that one second where she touched his lips with hers and knowing how wrong and unforgivable it was he was unable to resist the very situation, the desirable circumstances of them and the feel of her lips on his, he closed his eyes gently and refused to hold back by going in further, bringing his own hands up to hold her face lovingly towards him, closer, his tongue entwining with hers in connection, exploring her lips and whatever they said about her, how sweet they felt, how delicious they tasted, kissing her right back…


	28. My Amnesia

Pride & Prejudice D

_**Pride & Prejudice **__**D.B.Z**_

_**Chapter Twenty Eight**_

_Bulma raised her head lightly, feeling the soft lumpy surface under her and wondered at what exactly was happening to her as her surroundings came into focus and she found herself lying in mid daze and confusion on the largest couch in her lounge of all places to end up after waking up from unconsciousness._

_Shaking her head, her now light strands of hair flowing about with her, she sat up straight and tried to regain her memory and it seemed as if she had lost half the night to supposed amnesia. _

_She distinctly remembered going to Goku and ChiChi's engagement party, though when she wasn't sure considering the timing she was currently experiencing was unclear, the day unsure, clearly enjoying a dinner while Vegeta attempted to consume a deathly variation of his own 'distracted' creation, punching Yamcha straight in the face was a vivid point in her mind, especially the reason as to the brutal action, his sick twisted words and the way he had casually acted after his crimes. However, her favorite part happened to be when ChiChi had basically thrown her and Vegeta into one another's arms in the middle of the dance floor and Vegeta had had no option but to slow dance with her all the way across the dance floor, talking to her actively and positively at first but in the end she had simply leaned against him and from that point a comforting silence had fallen amongst them as they blissfully rotated, in peace and solitude. And that was where she was lost and oblivious and it seemed that her waking up on the sofa just happened to be the next point afterwards, the next step from dancing despite having lost over twelve hours of her memory._

"**What happened to me?"**_ she questioned herself worriedly, getting to her shaking feet when she suddenly realized that she was still fully clothed in her emerald green party dress whereas her every article of jewelry had been carefully removed and placed in front of her on the coffee table, as if the person responsible had not wanted her to even get a miniscule cut while sleeping and remain undisturbed in her slumber. Her heels were at the edge of sofa, placed straight up and together smartly so that she felt odd about the entire situation, lost on who could have possibly done this, she was so far gone even possible candidates weren't coming to her though the answer was so blatantly obvious. It was only when she looked up with weak and exhausted eyes, her lids hanging over, eyelashes drooping that she got the shock of her life, causing her heart to leap up in her throat and choke her as she backed up, falling into the sofa amongst the many tossed about and arranged cushions for her sleeping comfort, until she regained her composure and breathing control._

_Vegeta sat sound asleep in the sofa chair he had always occupied from the first time he stepped into the Capsule Corporation nearly five months ago when Bunny had started serving every possible tea time treat while Dr.Briefs had bored him with constant scientific technical discussions. That was the same seat he had been sitting in, Bulma remembered, when she had walked in and he'd spit his coffee all over the rug and her mother hadn't bothered at the stain, had been to keen on pushing Bulma to Vegeta's unsatisfied attention. That was again the same position where he'd been when Yamcha had come over an entire month ago to take her out and Vegeta had been picking on him, and once more when Yamcha had come over for dinner and sat down to converse with Vegeta when he'd been in that pink shirt he enjoyed wearing and only hated it simply because of its color. That sofa chair was now claimed by him, his possession and he'd resided in it to such an extent that the very shape of his figure had begun to change the shape of the sofa chair, it seemed merely as if it had been constructed for him, the structure to Vegeta's very person. _

_He lay there now, slumped, still in his white buttoned shirt and black pants though the jacket with his adorable corsage seemed to be absent, his hair slightly bent over and sticking out at random angles, thoroughly messed up, wrinkles in his forehead as if he was disturbed even within his dreams, eyes firmly closed, arms naturally folded across his chest and Bulma had to smile at this, disbelieving that even when asleep his was still in regular posture, his natural position unchanged, he was that determined to keep up appearances just because he was a Saiyan Prince. _

_Bulma couldn't help but flush as realization at last dawned on her and she figured it out, that Vegeta had been the kind hearted soul to so gently set her up upon the sofa to sleep peacefully, though she had never before thought that she would ever use 'Vegeta' and 'kind hearted soul' in the same sentence. But there was no doubt about it, even as she her gaze moved over the slowly breathing figure that he had been the one responsible for soft applying head rest for her and making the sofa as relaxing as possible, had removed all those possibly piercing material possessions on her so that they would not poise even the most minor of threats, had been the one who had sat across from her while she remained asleep, guarding the area, sitting right there to make sure nothing happened to her overnight in case she awoke startled or was caught off guard, remained there as if he was actually protecting her and Bulma suddenly understood though it was a bit difficult to accept at first but at long last she understood._

_Vegeta truly did have a heart._

"**I wonder if he remembers anything"**_ she mused thoughtfully once she brushed away her assumptions and mental thanks to her fellow being, once again resuming to her feet, this time with nothing to terrify her back hurtling to the sofa. Instead she attempted to creep out of the room , bare foot of course, without waking up the dreamer in the sofa but to no avail because as soon as she set one single tip toe on the creaky wooden floor board Vegeta's eyes flickered open and he immediately sat up in confusion, his bow tie undone and curling around his neck so that he ripped it off in annoyance and threw it aside with pure disgust before looking up and seeing her there, watching him throw a tantrum over nothing but the mere articles of his incomplete tuxedo and to her amusement, she noticed the slight magenta creep up in his face._

"**Good morning Vegeta. Sleep well?"**_ she greeted, tracing her steps back and once again landing on the larger sofa, though seating herself by choice this time so that she could hassle details of the previous night out of him._

"**When did you wake up?"**_ he asked, yawning slightly, blinking his eyes several times so he was able to see clearly as opposed to the blurry vision he'd had seconds before._

"**Just now. I was a bit confused when I did though…I can't even remember how I got here"**_ she admitted, blushing slightly, wondering what an idiot she must have seemed to him, not knowing how she was getting about places._

"**You don't remember because you were asleep"**_ he informed her in an expressionless voice, unbuttoning his collar so that he could massage his tightened neck, gritting his teeth as the button broke off in his hand, defacing the suit further._

"**I was asleep? What do you mean I was asleep? How could I just fall asleep at a party?"**_ she started up worriedly, unable to believe how bad she must have passed out at the party and began to wonder whether everything else was okay back with ChiChi and Goku._

"**Would you calm down? You just got a little drunk!" **_Vegeta answered in flustered voice while he broke off his second button, as if trying to rush past any details he might have to reveal in the process but Bulma had already plunged into a fit, hurdling constant questions his way as she stood up in a bolt and began pacing around the coffee table nonstop._

"**Oh my God! I was drunk! Seriously, drunk?"**_ she shrieked so that Vegeta reacted by leaning back, letting the buttons fall and roll into cave like corners, never to be found again, and rolling his eyes at the fury of her dramatics, as if the situation wasn't serious in the least. _**"Oh shit! What did I do? Was I making an idiot of myself? Is that why I passed out? What did I do when I was drunk? Vegeta, for God's sake, tell me before I suffer from heart trauma!" **_she bawled after coming to a stop right above Vegeta who was so taken aback by the heart trauma comment he immediately set to explaining, briefly but informatively what exactly had happened to her as he rose to his own feet._

"**You were acting like a real idiot if you want the truth" **_he admitted with not much resentment before carrying on. _**"It doesn't matter though because everyone else was also drunk and they were all doing idiotic things so you blended in well! Afterwards, you just passed out and I had to fly you home and then I brought your hover car back…is that**__**enough?"**

_Bulma listened to this relation on Vegeta's behalf, still unsure and made a point of asking further, positive he was hiding something as she grabbed a hold of his shoulders forcefully ._

"**What exactly did I DO when I was drunk Vegeta?"**_ she further pestered to which he merely flushed deeply in the cheeks before muttering in a rather irritated voice, _**"You just did rather stupid things! I didn't exactly spend the entire night keeping track of you! I had better things to do!"**

"**Why, did you get drunk to?"**_ she questioned without thinking in misguided innocence, not just wanting to further contradict him, unable to believe his temper could run out so fast just by a few harmless questions about what had basically happened to her._

"**That's none of your concern but just to assure you, I was quite right in the head last night…I don't spend my time digesting mind rotting inducements and I suggest you don't either!"**

_With this final striking comment he stomped off past her and disappeared upstairs, leaving Bulma dazed, finding it very crushing that they'd somehow, once again gotten into an argument. Even after the way they'd spent their time together last night, or the better of it, he was still somehow furious with her and she suddenly came to the heart wrenching conclusion that she must have done something while she hadn't been in a state of mind to upset him so much because they'd only just been getting along so very well. Her love for him, despite everything had refused to wane since she'd confessed it to him; even if it had later been erased from his memory and she thought that maybe he had slightly grown fonder of her since his big awakening. But that 'fondness' had suddenly been destroyed though what exactly she could have possibly done remained a mystery. _

"**If only he'd just tell me! Then we wouldn't be in this situation!"**_ she cried, getting to her own, suddenly blistering and aching feet to charge out of the lounge in hopes of tailing Vegeta up to his room when the phone in the hallway rang and she couldn't very well ignore it and so had no choice but to answer it despite her furious resistance from doing so._

"**Capsule Corporation. Bulma Briefs speaking. May I help you?"**_ Bulma recited of memory in an effortless way, glad she still had something she remembered though it was rather dry when Goku's voice came blurting out of the phone in excitement._

"**Hey Bulma! It's Goku! How you been since last night? You really knocked yourself out, didn't you? ChiChi told me what happened and I can't believe you would-OW!"**

_Goku broke of abruptly as a crashing noise came and Bulma was sure she could hear yelling on ChiChi's part in the background and immediately began questioning worriedly until Goku re-voiced.  
_**"Goku? Goku? Are you okay? Goku!"**

"**Sorry…ChiChi just hit me around the side with her rolling pin…apparently I'm not supposed to be mentioning what you did with Vege-OW!!" **

_Breaking off again she heard ChiChi say something in a very loud voice with a bit of overused explicit language and Goku was trying to calm her down by going, _**"I'm sorry…honest I am…okay…I'll just invite her…I won't mention anything else" **_before returning back to the call, flustered and panting._

"**Honestly, the temper on that woman-DON'T HIT ME AGAIN!.. Anyway, I called you to ask you, well actually it's ChiChi who should be doing the asking but she's kind of setting something on fire in the kitchen that's making for lunch so she asked me to ask you****whether you want to come over for tea later today if you aren't busy today… Oh, yeah, and would you bring Vegeta along, I'd like to talk to that crabby old Saiyan Prince; he's such a joyful person! Can you make it?"**

_Bulma paused for a minute, finding the thought of driving over to have tea with ChiChi during her own free leisure time quite enjoyable, plus thrilled that she was closer to finding out what crazy antics she had gotten up to when she had been drunk the previous nights for it had become particularly clear from this phone call that the two lovers knew and knew well. The part where Vegeta would accompany her seemed slightly more unbelievable considering his mood but she didn't tell Goku that part, only that she'd be over some time around five if they were lucky._

"**Good thing…ChiChi's been desperate to speak to you all day…she's gone insane…"**

"**Why is that?" **_Bulma intervened, wondering if perhaps Goku would just blurt it out so that she wasn't charged with costly suspense until five and couldn't believe her ears when he began speaking on._

"**Well…honestly speaking…I don't find it SUCH a big deal…that she'd be this desperate to talk to you about what you did… I guess it was a bit of a shocker…you know him being him and you being…well…YOU…I guess with the situation being the way it is this was bound to happen…so I'm not THAT obsessed….but apparently it's ALL ChiChi can THINK about…I mean it's big that you-OW!! OW!! OW!! I'M SORRY CHICHI! I FORGOT!-" **_The last thing she heard was ChiChi shouting at Goku while crackles came form the phone line as Goku struggled to place the phone down properly on the cradle. Bulma couldn't help but start laughing, tears of joy and comic relief coming to her eyes, despite her own desperate case with Vegeta, praying for Goku's sake, they were just so funny together._

"**One happy couple…"**


	29. A Profound Road Trip

Pride & Prejudice D

_**Pride & Prejudice **__**D.B.Z**_

_**Chapter Twenty Nine**_

Vegetabrought his hyper critical gaze up so that they met with the deep oceanic blues that were brightly reflected in the rear view mirror, a rather pleasant contrast from his own dark hallow orbs, cut into dangerously murderous slits at that precise moment.  
Her eyes widened with question when they aligned with his but she was nevertheless apparently pleased at the silent contact behind which the unintentional motivation lay.

"**What's up?"** she asked spontaneously, causing his eyes to widen likewise while she playfully veered the hover car to a swift right, her hands playfully drumming against the steering wheel, not removing her gaze from the straight piercing line of the rear view mirror.

Vegeta hesitantly turned to look at Bulma as opposed to her incomplete reflection and found the real thing ten times more enjoyable and appealing to admire. Captivated by the oncoming traffic she fought with much fiery determination and skill from behind the wheel, yelling out single minded curses at random given moments without warning, becoming quite aggressive with her rights to drive, she was unable to see the longing desire that was showing on Vegeta's very facial expression, despite her companions many attempts to hide it.

It was mainly her unique original hair that struck him, like a lightening bolt to his heart though he was quite alien to the emotion that could possess such electrifying qualities and transform such blaring burning hatred into something more than just simply mutual. The long, gracefully set, blue strands were tied up in a tightly secured and fashionably poised ponytail but a few strands had been let loose to apply a neutral appearance and care free style and had not been bonded back with her grey scrunchie so that fell past her shoulders making him want to just extend his hand, only slightly though, and brush them along with his hand, play about with her hair, place the free bangs wherever he thought fit to align them, allow them to merely be touched by him.

Somehow, beneath his hard core indestructible shell, under the heavily protective layers in the softest of interiors he knew with complete assured confidence and sincerity that she had done it for him.

It had felt so very enlightening, so very ecstatic, to know it had all been for him, though she had given no apparent clues or signs that could signify her purpose had known it just as she had started down those stairs, him paralyzed by the vision of her seductive change that, unbeknownst to her, seemed to bring about a new aura between them.

That was what was monstrously urging him to simply ignore everything and slide his fingertips against her hair lightly, allowing the strands to entwine, slipping about like they had the previous night, carried in careless billows by the wind, their blue consistency equivalent to that of her perfect eyes that had sparkled like the twinkling stars that scattered the heavens above them, that had lured him in with their magnetic pull that had drowned him with lush bliss and security and a sense of want…right before…

"**Nothing"** Vegeta answered to Bulma's general question in a seemingly hushed yet choice tone, turning moodily on one side so he was forced to glare out the blank window, the scene of the slight pour of drizzling rain gradually pattering down from the grey cloudy blotted skies there to entertain him unsuccessfully, breaking the vision of Bulma who had seemed least surprised about Vegeta's conservative reaction, content with his phases and had only blinked repeatedly for a few consecutive seconds before drifting off to other thoughts gladly, unaware that Vegeta's mind continued to revolve on only the one subject that had been haunting him for quite some time now.

'**I'm lying to her'** his mind screamed as he tried to contain it within himself, resisting the need to suddenly say it out loud and release the confusion and pain. **'Why? Why did I do it? Why did I break? I should have been stronger… willed myself to resist the ridiculous sentimental urge! It's pitiful! A shame…upon me, the Saiyan Prince…upon my race…my very pride! The idea! That I would fall to such lowly descents as to pine for the likes of…HER! It's completely nonsensical! As if she could ever extend to my caliber, bring up her standards! True, she has become somewhat tolerable…much more understandable and less typical in terms of earthling females… unlike her forsaken mother I could mention! But I highly doubt she could submit herself to any…**_**feelings**_**…Of course NOT! She has merely learnt of the respect she owes me…at long last…and…after all…she was under influence last night when she… she…… …whatever her intentions were, they were driven by loss of sanity…extreme lack of rational logic and morality… and I…I…I…what excuse do I poise for my sufferable behavior to subject to such atrocity? The fact that I was under influence does not prove to be enough…being a Saiyan I should only have been affected to a minor extent!** **How much of last night…was…was by my will…?'**

Vegeta's head pounded from all these debating thoughts, arguing with himself and no matter how hard he tried he could not brush the events of the previous night away as they repeated over and over in his mind, becoming more realistic and imaginable, less easier to accept with each vision though becoming more memorable and he kept questioning himself over and over in the same way, **'Why don't I just tell her the truth?'**

It was complicated he understood, but he didn't want to relay, even to Bulma, how pathetically weak he had been, gotten himself terribly drunk and then went ahead and did what he'd always forbidden himself to do, subjecting to humane emotion, a grave sin in his conscience and bringing up considering he wasn't, after all, human at all.

"**What on this damned planet is going on with me?? Why have I suddenly stooped to pitiful means…seeking …urrggghhh …'compassion'??** **It is uselessly lowly!!"**

Blinking away his misty glazed eyes he saw, past the ending rain droplets splattered in patterns across his window, the black, aligned with rain droplets from the now diminished rain, metal designed gateway of the Victorian styled house with it's extended endless fields of lush green lawns scattered with fresh foliage spread across flatly and curving behind it's structure that ChiChi had bought ever since she had been able to obtain a place of her own after moving out of her fathers since the environment there, though pleasant when paying family visits or other pleasantries had become much too claustrophobic for living conditions and circumstances and even on the terms of unbearable.  
Vegeta couldn't understand exactly what type of supposed trance had come over him when he had unintentionally agreed to accompany Bulma on her little escapade to Goku and ChiChi's residence but he regretted it immensely when they had slipped into parking, splashing into a few puddles, and he actually caught sight of the house in close up for the first time.

He wasn't sure what put him off more, the fact that the house looked unaccountably ancient from the outside or because Goku happened to be standing at the door, in a light blue checked shirt that got down to his last nerve, waving ecstatically over at them, obviously not getting tired of the repetitive hand movement.

"**Why are we here?"** Vegeta moaned, unable to surpass the tone of disappointment and possible murder from his question, sinking down in his seat slightly to block the view of Goku but not enough to be labeled slouch and Bulma actually started laughing upon seeing him so down.

"**Well…ChiChi invited me over for tea and Goku…well…he just wanted to see you I guess…he didn't mention why though…I guess he just wanted to spend some time in your company"** she explained cheerfully, giving him a friendly shove round the shoulder. **"Come on grouch! He really did want to see you…his favorite Saiyan Prince he said"**

"**What is Kakarot? Gay?" **

"**VEGETA! That was NOT funny!"** Bulma exclaimed in mixed horror while she held back the comical laughter that was escaping at his abrupt comment. **"Get out of the car and be a man about it! It's just tea! Besides…you're the one who agreed to come with me…when I asked you could have said no!"**

"**I wasn't in a current state of mind"** Vegeta argued back, not shifting an inch, not particularly intent on leaving the refuge of the hover car.

"**Well, now is a really bad time to go against your word considering it's a bit too late!"** she disciplined, still giggling a bit from his previous comment yet clearly growing tired much to Vegeta's pleasure. **"Now get OUT!!"**

Even though he was just beginning to enjoy tormenting Bulma, still remaining a common hobby despite the time and experience they had spent together, he soon found he didn't have enough energy to power his brain to come up with contradicting statements and had no choice but to follow her out of the car, dusting off his shirt as he approached the towering house, avoiding walking directly into puddles as well as making eye contact with the other Saiyan.

"**Finally…ChiChi was having a fit!"** Goku called out at the two of them. **"Hey there Bulma!! In a much better state than last night I see!"**

Vegeta stopped dead in his tracks down the gravel path, his breathing cycle actually coming to a firm halt after hearing this, his caution up and guard signaled at the carelessly casual statement before he fell back into the ever lastingly slow, slightly dead pace with Bulma, wondering what their host would have to say to him next, though by the looks of his beaming grin it couldn't be anything good.

"**And would you look at that," **Goku started up again, much to Vegeta's long suffering self control,** "…the Saiyan Prince actually showed up! How you been your Highness?"**

Vegeta growled under his breath murderously so only Bulma heard and she shot him a venomously spitting warning glare before passing by Goku who was indicating the correct doors to pass through to find ChiChi so they could discuss whatever it was these days that they talked about, which in Vegeta's opinion, was useless girly gossip of pointless purpose. The conversations he had with Bulma were much more productive and of valuable reason and he would have preferred that she utilize her free time to speak to him instead of her hysterical, slightly tormenting best friend, though he didn't dare let her know of this fact, making the firm unshifted choice of dragging it down to the grave with him if he had to than let it escape from his mouth and possibly scar or bruise her fragile feelings.

Lingering back, hoping to stall as much as possible he was down heartened when Bulma had finally disappeared and Vegeta was sought out for, caught looking particularly out of place coming down the pathway, decked on the sides with flowers and other various exotic plants ChiChi had set to tending to.

Coming down the house steps Goku managed to fall in step with Vegeta and before Vegeta could even begin to hope to protest the two had begun randomly circling the house in a quick paced stroll. Enjoying the peaceful after showers breeze and fresh aroma of the afternoon Goku brought his arms up, resting his hands behind his head, basking in the little sunlight that was peeking from behind the southwards headed clouds while Vegeta merely glowered, hands confined in the solitary escape of his pockets, hoping to end the casual visit as soon as possible

"**So Vegeta…"** Goku began out of the blue. **"I heard you had fun last night…"**


	30. Behind The Picture Frame

Pride & Prejudice D

_**Pride & Prejudice **__**D.B.Z**_

_**Chapter Thirty**_

_Bulma began to advance with each and ever footstep down the narrow everlasting corridor, the wooden floorboards squeaking under her, avoiding the winding staircase that lead up to the first of many higher floors, proceeding downwards just as Goku had directed until she saw a beam of light at the ending, possibly meaning an opening._

"**Bulma!"**_ ChiChi called out, strolling over from the opposite end, clad in a very familiar looking dress with a pink apron tied around her waist over. _**"I thought you'd gotten lost or something, it was taking you forever!"**_ she carried on ecstatically, motioning for Bulma to follow her down from where she had appeared until a sitting room came into view and past that Bulma noticed the open doors of a kitchen where a curl of delicate smoke was rising._

"**Were you cooking or something?"**_ Bulma asked suspiciously, noticing a few hints of flour on ChiChi's face and specks of batter on her fingertips with her eagle eyes._

"**Guilty as charged! I was baking cookies since Goku 'insisted'…"**_ ChiChi submitted, gesturing towards a sofa chair for Bulma to sit on. _**"They're setting in the oven right now. I'll just put the timer on and wash up so go ahead and make yourself at home…"**_ she welcomed graciously before disappearing into the kitchen, allowing Bulma the privacy to stroll about the room, simple yet elegantly decorated in a casual Japanese style, exquisite miniature ornaments stood in random places, made for comfort and casual behavior, based on ChiChi's preferable culture of choice. Bulma could feel a warm presence within the room, within the entire formations of the solid walls of the house, a feeling that was held in many houses but remained isolated from her own, the feel of wholesome lovers bliss, the feel of a growing family, the mere feel of an unattainable yet beloved happiness._

_Coming across the mantel piece over the fire place she was suddenly absorbed by the many well framed pictures that stood upon it or hung near by, pictures of ChiChi in younger years with her father, pictures from back in the mountainsides, of her teenage dramas, all separated from recent photos of her with Goku on their first official date, on vacation with Goku, of Goku moving in and other random pictures such as when Goku brought home a giant fish for dinner or of when he had distracted ChiChi while she was cooking so it looked like there had been an explosion in the kitchen, yet the both of them were laughing behind the glass of the frame and Bulma felt her breath catch in her throat painfully as she brought her face right up close to the picture, she was barely an inch away from the frame as she ran her fingers across the smooth glass surface, imagining such an image reflecting herself sharing a beloved moment with some she loved in a passionate way and was unable to come up with any such scene. Her heart swelled up with a mixture of random emotions, all bringing about blessings on her best friend's new found happiness, wishing it long lasting existence and forever aura yet, underneath it all remained still her more selfish wants, ebbing away in every heart beat, asking for her own happiness. _

_Watching the arrival of such a romance in her best friend's life and then the surprise of a marriage made Bulma want something similar even more than ever before. _

_She had seen the change in her best friend, a change only a relationship of many extended and loyal years could reveal to only the closest of bonds. There was no doubt about it, everything in ChiChi's manner and lifestyle, her words, her actions were all altered with a certain glow around them, as if she was already married with children, grand children, having already lived many years with an extended growing family, as if she had already lived a complete fulfilled life, even if she was only on one the beginners stages. It was all so beautiful to be seen unraveling before her, life's pathway with unexpected surprises and pleasant turns along its way and Bulma remained anxious to see when her journey with a beloved would begin._

_Yet, it seemed she was destined to have a broken relationship while everyone else around her seemed to move along leaving her behind. When would she get to fall into a pure romance that did her justice and care? When would she be on the receiving end of a pledge to bind for life with another soul? When would she feel the glowing pleasure when she had the privilege of beginning a hopeful family to-be? _

_What she wouldn't do to simply have pictures of her own, pictures that she could put behind glass frames with pride and reflect on with hope and happiness, to see herself, as ChiChi saw herself with Goku, with the man of her dreams, a man who gave her whatever she wanted before she wanted it yet let her know her limits in the gentlest way possible, allowed her to be free with the world in her own way yet kept her secure from anything harmful, anything threatening, who let her live her own life but only if he should be allowed to become a part of it._

_Did she even have such a person, such a protecting soul in her life who she could turn to in her most dearest and desperate of times for sympathy, opinion, consolation or simply just to know that somebody was there for her to pour out her each and every concern to, somebody who would not grow tired of her, who would live simply to satisfy her but only if she in return lived for the mere pleasure and joy of satisfying him? Did anybody in her existence even remotely come close to such a person Bulma thought dejectedly as she felt her vision sway slightly, prickling from the salt water, from what she was sure were tears brimming up, ready to escape but she blinked them back as forcefully as possible, making sure they didn't escape as she thought of the only possible person who fit her exclusively restricted category and the thought of him made her simply want to cry all the more._

"**Here Bulma"**_ ChiChi smiled over, reappearing once again, no sign of food articles on face or hands and apron abandoned, with a tray holding two china set cups of steaming tea with a matching pot of sugar and small jug of milk also beheld, every article with the same gold flaked design imprinted on them. _**"I brought tea since that is what you came for…oh…are you okay?"**

_Bulma quickly blinked back her tears with shock as she gazed over, her thoughts interrupted as she tried to appear genuinely happy, to understand exactly what was happening around her as she withdrew her hand from the picture and allowed it to fall at her side limply, when her mind adjusted to the current situation at hand.  
_**"What were you making when this happened?"**_ she questioned with skill, trying to smile what Bulma assumed was quite the watery smile, hoping her eyes weren't too damp looking as she gestured towards the last frame she had been admiring and ChiChi frowned in puzzlement, placing the tray down on the coffee table as she attempted to recall, still a bit off by the abnormality the question was brought up._

"**Well…if my memory is correct I think I was cooking stir fry…yes! Stir fry! Then Goku came and offered to help…except…well…cooking isn't exactly a strength of his!"**_ she trailed off with a chuckling smile as Bulma came over, a grin of her own at the prospect of Goku setting to cooking as she took a seat next to ChiChi who passed her a cup of tea with all the necessary implements added in the correct supply of quotients._

"**I actually haven't had stir fry in a long time"**_ Bulma mused, taking a light sip and pursing her lips, allowing the liquid to burst the senses in her taste buds, having been so addicted to coffee she had become practically unknown towards tea. _**"In fact…the last time I had stir fry was about five months ago!"**

"**Really?" **_ChiChi asked with wide eyes and a surprised expression, pouring herself some milk. _**"Over here we have it four times a week and the remaining three its noodles, what with Goku in the house"**

"**I guess stir fry isn't exactly a major at our house since Vegeta…" **_Out of no where Bulma felt compelled to stop speaking at the mention of Vegeta's name, it send tremors down her spine and made her feel naturally shaken but she managed to continue. _**"…since…Vegeta…Vegeta…he…he doesn't…actually like noodles and such so we normally…avoid…eating such things…we'd rather have solid stuff covered in****grease, oil, fat and Kami knows what else!…the last time I remember actually eating stir fry"**_ Bulma carried on, not noticing the irony of the topic or the oddity of it, _**"was when…yes! When you and I went to that convention! No wonder that dress looked familiar! Now I remember!"**

"**Remember what?"**_ ChiChi questioned curiously, not understanding why her friend was flushing so deeply, acting so triumphant. _

"**That's the dress you bought from the convention right before I met up with Goku…when I was getting in line to eat some stir fry…****Wow! How coincidental, huh?" **

_ChiChi eyed Bulma strangely, not understanding exactly how such random topics could lead to such a past event and when she poised the disturbed thought in a question Bulma elaborated._

"**I know you think it's weird ChiChi but that was the same day Vegeta moved into my house…the first day all of my current problems began…same day, if you recall, the day you met Goku and he moved in with you while I got the Saiyan Prince as a house guest for an entire year…possibly over"**

"**I guess then it is a crucial day"**_ ChiChi agreed hesitantly, taking a slight gulp of her tea cup, holding it between both her hands, finding the memory of the trip to the convention centre a pleasant yet incredible twist of fate indeed. _

"**So…" **_Bulma began, completely spinning the topic around. _**"Any plans for the big day??"**_ she cheered and ChiChi immediately gave up on loose ends and suspicions and plunged into her dreamt up idea for the perfect wedding, dictating the ceremony and the desired location, the list of guests which seemed to be resisting Master Roshi but in the end had to include him, the necessary edibles that would deck the tables in the after party, an extremity in Goku's opinion and everything else a bride-to-be likes to go on about with a friend who questions about it._

"**Goku's got Krillin to be his best man and everything.****Also…I was hoping you'd be my bride's maid?" **_she ended of hopefully and Bulma couldn't stop herself from nodding ecstatically, the two of them shivering from the excitement of ChiChi and Goku's wedding day._

"**Of course! I would be honored ChiChi!"**_ she exclaimed, startled by the direct offer but unable to decline, it was such a, extreme delight._**  
"Good…I want the wedding to go absolutely perfect. I know it's a jinx to say that but I just can't help it…and this time I'm going to avoid having people, including dad, getting drunk like last night! The lightest golden wine for my wedding, I don't care what anybody else says! After last night…not taking the risk again! The party ended up a mess!! Everyone had a good time but it was still off the top!!"**

_Bulma's senses immediately shaped up, an alerting alarm shooting about in her nerves, her brain going haywire as she remembered the engagement party, the loss of her memory that she had come here to regain in between everything else that she and ChiChi needed to discuss. _

"**Hey Bulma?"**_ ChiChi began up out of the blue and Bulma whisked over to make eye contact, her mind still confused as she nodded to show she was listening attentively. _**"How much longer is Vegeta staying?"**_ she questioned lightly, twisting the subject suitably to her favor without Bulma even realizing the clever trick, falling into the trap distinctively._

"**Oh…well he hasn't even been here for half a year…I'd say eight to nine months more, give or take"**_ she estimated logically as ChiChi took the information in thoughtfully, pressing on._

"**That seems like quite a while…will you even be able to bare it" **

"**Of course! I mean, five months already and I haven't committed a personal suicide. Inviting Vegeta to live with us was like digging my own grave but I never actually got stuck down there…besides…somehow, he seems less infuriating than he used to be…I'm so used to seeing him around the house it'll seem strange when he's left not to, busying himself in the kitchen, training in the gravity room or just lounging about the corridors, having random arguments with me…he's practically****family to be honest…"**

_Bulma ended off with a small voice, suddenly unable to speak, her words stuck somewhere between her throat and her mouth so that they couldn't escape. ChiChi noticed her struggle with undetected knowing and before she could change her mind about what she might have possibly seen the night before she brought it up…_


	31. False Thoughts

Pride & Prejudice D

_**Pride & Prejudice **__**D.B.Z**_

_**Chapter Thirty One**_

Vegeta suddenly flinched without willing to as Goku mentioned the statement with such shivery casual air he couldn't help but envy him venomously for having his life at such idiotic ease while his remained to continuously grow so complicated with every dreaded second he spent in its existence.

"**Fun?"** Vegeta echoed the word in an alien way, wondering how to approach the endless void of a situation without betraying himself utterly while Goku continued to stroll onwards without a worry, in high spirits despite the remotely grey sky hanging above in lingering clouds, as if it hadn't already rained enough upon them.

"**Yeah…"**he encouraged further, giving Vegeta a random side ways glance, lopsided smile on clear display. **"Last night? At the party? Krillin said he saw you looking pretty… satisfied…" **

Cursing a certain bald headed person under his breath Vegeta refrained from any total verbal contact on the subject but Goku just wouldn't take the clear icy hint and carried on with the conversation.

"**I have to agree with him…I mean, at first I thought he'd bust a brain cell or something but then I saw you…you did seem pretty happy!"** he cheered on while Vegeta lowered his gaze down to the wet grass blades he was crushing with each step, absolutely sure someone out there was going to bust a brain cell soon enough if he had anything to say about it, his stride growing more furious as Goku continued to let the words seep out, trying very hard to throw out all memories of last night, holding his tongue forcefully between his sharp fang like teeth so that the pain began to ebb through and he wasn't too surprised when the familiar salty taste of freshly released and escaping blood filled his mouth, making him want to just spit it out but he held back the determined urge.

"**Anyway…" **Goku proceeded care free, seemingly innocent in his attempts to break Vegeta into confession. **"I just wanted to know from you whether it was alright…last night, I mean…"**

Vegeta brought up his piercing glare to penetrate Goku right through his skull, focusing on sending him a warning to end the interrogation at a stead fast halt immediately.

"**It was…okay"** he admitted in finality in a low and defeated voice after realizing he wasn't as yet to be left alone, his fists clenched, his guard not yet fallen in case he was further questioned as his instincts indicated he would be and his instincts were rarely ever off the point on the mark.

"**Well…"** Goku mused, pondering over the response in reply, not sure whether he should be disappointed or thrilled, and his feelings were at their regular tie drawn location. **"I guess that's better than nothing…especially from you!"**

He cheered up in an instant, allowing Vegeta to glower even further over 'Kakarot's' metamorphosis concerning random moods.

"**You know Vegeta…this is kind of embarrassing but plenty of people actually got drunk last night!"** Goku reminisced as if the thought had just come to him but Vegeta knew what he was playing at and how badly he had failed at covering his tracks.

"**Honestly Kakarot! Enough with your pathetic questioning! I know you know I was amongst those in number who lost their minds, alongside you!"** he muttered in a speedy dash, irritated at this mind game he was being forced to indulge in but Goku didn't seem to realize that Vegeta had caught him in a step forward.

"**I guess you were…I saw you dancing…"** he uttered in an audibly embarrassed voice, trying to rush on the indication as Vegeta felt his cheeks burn up, only slightly, but the warmth was recognizable nevertheless.

"**Bulma got sick later…right?"** he questioned with seriously concerned intentions but Vegeta refused to answer, his own fury was bubbling within him and he wanted to cut the discussion as short as possible and remaining completely silent seemed a positively affective alternative. He didn't count for what happened next.

"**Oh, come on Vegeta! It couldn't have been that BAD!" **

Vegeta raised his head up abruptly, cracking the crick in his neck but he barely noticed, he was desperately focused on understanding what that statement of rapture had meant.

"**I said it was okay Kakarot! What more do you want?"** he quizzed, wondering why he was being challenged in this pointless manner, especially by someone of such a low intelligence quotient in his beliefs.

"**No…not the engagement party! Not that…the other thing…you know what I mean…" **was Goku's flustered reply; he was thoroughly messed up now in his tactic, not knowing how to manage the situation at hand, wishing his fiancée was the one at the charge who would no doubt manage to approach it rationally as opposed to him.

"**No I do not!"** Vegeta responded irritably so that Goku's panic basically shot past sane reserved limits and he unintentionally blurted out all that was muddled and crowded in his brain concerning the issue they were discussing at hand with much lack of tactic it seems.

"**ChiChi told me to get this out of you but I can't do it!! I can't!! This is her thing so I'm just going to ask you out loud though she'll probably kill me for this! If you don't that is! It's just so unfair! I had to be stuck with you and ChiChi only did that because she knows how angry you'll probably get but still! This is so confusing it's actually starting to hurt my head! What's even the point? Does it even matter? Even if I ask…you probably won't care so why bother! I know ChiChi will flip if I don't! But I just can't! Because I know once I-"**

"**JUST ASK ME THE BLOODY QUESTION KAKAROT!!"** Vegeta erupted at a rough unanticipated decibel, clearly in a foul mood, not high on his patience or his interest in Goku's blabbering yet a long gap of uninterrupted silence followed this outburst before Goku was able to poise his thoughts by asking Vegeta what he had been trying to for quite some time, his wary stalling finally out of substantially potent excuses.

"**Did you or did you not kiss Bulma Briefs?"** he mumbled, staring down at his hands as he twiddled his thumbs preparing himself for Vegeta full throttle temper.

"**WHAT?? IS THAT WHAT YOU WANTED TO ASK ME?? WHETHER I KISSED THAT WOMAN?? HAVE Y0U GONE INSANE KAKAROT!! I MOST CERTAINLY DID NOT KISS HER!! I HAVEN'T COMPLETELY LOST MY SAIAYN MORALS EVEN IF YOU HAVE!! I DO HAVE SOME PRIDE!!"**

Goku literally felt his very heavy heart sink down to the black pit of his stomach in depression as Vegeta ranted on, red in the face to such an extent his blood was most probably boiling under his skin and his dark fiery hair was standing up past the usual height, spiking out even more heavily in various directions, looking as sharp as daggers and they most surely would have cut through that way. Soon enough the Saiyan Prince was out of breath and paused to regain his royal composure and Goku actually had the feeling that he was being let off the hook, though he couldn't have been more wrong, even as he tried to creep off the scene on his tip toes, doing his best to make an escape for the front door and seek refuge inside the house where hopefully Vegeta would have to at least contain his anger in most respects.

"**GET YOUR SORRY SELF BACK HERE KAKAROT!!"** Vegeta yelled over in his thunderous roar, permuting the silent day with his frantic furies and Goku had no other option except to return to his previous position as Vegeta threw yet another fit.

"**HONESTLY! HOW COULD ANYBODY BE SO LOW MINDED TO EVEN THINK THAT I, A PRINCE OF ALL SAIYANS WOULD EVEN STOOP TO THAT LOW? I SWEAR KAKAROT; EVEN I DIDN'T EXPECT THIS OF YOU, TO** **BE SO INFERIOR MINDED AS TO THINK I WOULD WASTE MY TIME 'SOCIALISING' IN MORE THAN THE NECESSARY WAY WITH THAT WOMAN!! YOU'RE SURELY MISSING MENTAL ORGANS IF YOUR BRAIN DAMAGE HAS RECEIVED THAT CAPABILITY!! YOU ABSOLUTE MORON!!"**

He had begun pacing in tense circles in the grassy area soon enough with Goku's wide and shocked pair of eyes trailing after him, following his every movement while waiting for the uproar to begin once again. He was mumbling nonsense; it seemed, to himself, massaging his forehead to wipe away the sweat that had gathered from his anger rushes before starting up again, a gentle aura gathering around him as the ground began to go through a soft repetitive shaking from the Saiyans fury.

"**THIS ENVIRONMENT HAS OBVIOUSLY MADE YOU WEAK MINDED!! THIS ENTIRE PLANET IS DOOMED THAT WAY!! IT JUST ENDS UP MAKING EVERY SINGLE DAMNED CREATURE ON IT SOFT AND** **NAÏVE!! THAT'S WHAT IT'S DONE TO YOU! I JUST KNOW IT! AND IF I DON'T DO SOMETHING IT'LL EFFECT ME TO! THAT…THAT…THAT… WOMAN…SHE'S THE REASON ALL OF THIS IS HAPPENING TO ME!! SHE'S MAKING ME DAMN WEAK!! WEAK!! I HATE HER SO MUCH!! AND I CAN'T EVEN TELL HER!! I CAN'T TELL HER HOW MUCH I HATE HER!! I HATE THAT SO MUCH!! IT'S KILLING ME KAKAROT!! KILLING ME!!"**

With a dramatic end to that blow of his true feelings he caused a sharp pointed crack to appear under him and extend further down the huge lawn, dirt pounds crumbling up to the surface from the force of the upcoming escaping kinetic energy, defacing the beautiful scenery as if an earthquake had attempted to split apart the green land in two unequal portions with crashing seismic waves but Goku could not have cared less about the destruction of his defaced garden.

"**Vegeta…"** he started, not trusting himself to speak any words of condolence but he remembered with sudden memory what ChiChi had told him, what she had shown him and he couldn't resist the idea of seeing Bulma's face shine with pleasure and happiness once more time, a happiness that could last forever he knew if he just made a push and attempted to try, no matter how horrible the consequences.

"**Vegeta, see…I know…"** he carried on, confidence coming to him as he poured out the sentences without regret.

"**I know that you're lying…" **


	32. Fattening Complications

Pride & Prejudice D

_**Pride & Prejudice **__**D.B.Z**_

_**Chapter Thirty Two**_

_Bulma tapped her foot in a rhythmic beat against the Japanese print carpet, her fingers in the same correspondence as they hit her crossed over knee lightly while she waited patiently for ChiChi to return from her mission confined in the comforts of her kitchen, hopefully with a batch of her homemade cookies that she'd gone to fetch from the oven in a bustling hurry as opposed to her punctual and prepared self. _

_She was enjoying the odd thumping and grinding sound her fingers made against the stretched denim, a contrast from when she was wearing sweats, slippery and slightly demeaning, all of which she owned that were starting to tighten and shorten on her so that they were quite uncomfortable for any type of wear, not even the ones she would prefer to wear simply around the house. She didn't seem to regret the fact that she was now reduced to skirts and jeans since her habit of wearing sweats had worn out ever since Vegeta moved in for she highly disapproved of him being able to see exactly how large her rear was, or basically just how large she imagined it was with her over feminine mind, and the sweats proved to be the prefect piece of clothing that made this dread possible in it's many explicit revealing ways. In fact, when sweats were abandoned they weren't done so alone; along with them came any other article that revealed more than necessary or didn't flatter her body in the correct way such as tube tops, tank tops, mini's, micro mini's, excessively short shorts and the works which were all piled up and taken to the nearby 'Clothing Centre: Old and New' where they were bargained for and bought to be adjusted and taken away from her unwelcome possession. Her entire wardrobe, her whole balance of fashion had taken a drastic change as soon as Bulma figured out that there would be a male living in her house for over a year other than her own father. A clearly observant, snide, critical, stubborn, proud, arrogant, pessimistic, cynical, ungrateful yet highly attractive and seductive alien male. _

_Bulma thought back to the times when this had been her view of the Saiyan Prince and when she had wished soulful hell down upon him, a wish she now felt remorse in making when she realized how close it had come to being fulfilled, sending shivers down her spine. Over the time she could now confidently say that Vegeta's personality had taken a change for the better, having become less opposing and more understanding, even if not towards everybody else around him. She herself barely understood how much she had changed because of his becoming a part of their living, a part of their family, no matter how difficult he was and how determined he was to isolate himself from their bliss existence. _

_From the point when she had stepped care free into the lounge, unbeknownst of what she was to face for after all she'd only gone shopping with a friend so she hadn't really expected much to change, and Vegeta had spit coffee all over her carpet had been the point where nothing would ever be the same again, the point from which her entire timetable revolved around what Vegeta happened to be doing, her entire entity focused on Vegeta's whereabouts and happenings . No one could have forgotten her constant trips to the nearest grocery store to pick up a dozen times the regular food supply to satisfy the Saiyans abnormal diet, how she would just disappear in the hover car for hours on an end to run random errands, the endless time spent sweating over the gravity room, the days wasted on malfunctions and emotional jags, the months of trauma until it finally functioned and then the repetitive arguments spent on timing and resting, preserving energy between the both of them for living experience, something the both of them were missing out on. The worry and anxiety brought upon by herself lead her close to edge of insanity and she begun growing quite depressed, began forgetting to give herself necessary attention and so her own eating habits were left ignored, living on the slim and tilting strings between life and death on countless mugs of coffee and restricted hours of sleep._

_Apart from the regular issues there had been her own social life at stake, how little she had actually spoken to people outside the boundaries of her own house, avoiding everybody if it was possible, rushing her father rudely on, blowing her mother off, trying to speed on conversations with ChiChi, having a messed up incidental affair with Yamcha, forgetting all her friends and then trying to pin the entire blame on Vegeta, even when deep inside, she knew that honestly, these problematic changes were due to her own negative perspective on expecting the worst of a situation and basically her own fault that she had produced an inability for herself to enjoy life at its fullest. _

_Biting her lip forcefully so that she sensed the salty trickle of a light dab of blood she tried to ignore the sickening dread that begun undoubtedly growing in the pit of her stomach just as the soft, warm, lush aroma of freshly baked chocolate cookies wafted in through the open kitchen door, hanging about in the air so that she had the sudden desire to bite her way into one of them and felt a heavy relief when ChiChi returned, appearing flushed in the face from the wave of heat that had escaped from the oven, carrying a piled plate of her wonder creations._

"**Fresh and just out of the oven! I persist…no…insist…that you have one immediately"**_ she cheered euphorically, setting the plate down on the coffee table as Bulma eyed them wide with mouth watering hunger, placing one hand on her stomach, as if measuring mentally how extended it would become from the calories of just one before shrugging it off playfully and snatching one up, giving it a speedy appreciative glance before hungrily sinking her teeth into the delicacy. The flavor was bursting and new to her, having not had anything particularly sweet or delicious in a while, the effects of her dinner from the engagement party not being enough to get her used to such edible freedom, especially since she barely possessed memory of what she had eaten. Before she could hope to restrain herself she had devoured five more and was just reaching out for a sixth subconsciously when ChiChi pointed the fact out._

"**You haven't eaten properly in a while now have you!"**_ she commented, a maternal essence in her tone but Bulma didn't have the sense to be awry of the situation, too stuck up in the soft puffy clouds of blissful cookie heaven. _

"**These cookies are amazing! I haven't tasted anything so…AMAZING!"**_ she managed to mumble in between her chewing mouthfuls, not too selective over her lack of adjectives, readily self forgiving over her naïve appearance. Rolling her eyes in exasperation ChiChi nibbled her own, still fully intact singular co0kie while wondering how to approach the ushered away situation._

_She had already set Goku on Vegeta's case, and since there had been no sign of nuclear explosions, random wild fire or other alien destructive acts outside she could conclude that hopefully, even if the chance was slight, that the supposed interrogation was going quite well. There was still the odd yet possible chance that Goku, like herself, was still merely dwindling around the subject, not having yet hit the core and so not giving Vegeta any subjective reason to throw a thorough temper tantrum and she secretly hoped with crossed fingers that he did soon enough so that at least a mere portion of their scheme could be concluded with assurance and finality. She knew, even if she resented knowing it, that to be perfectly reasonable, it wasn't any of their business but after what the two had done to bring her and Goku together, even if in the end it was all perfect coincidence, she felt she owed the both of them the same courtesy since they were clearly meant for each other, even if she and Goku were the only ones clearly aware of this fact. _

"**So, Bulma…before I left you aimlessly to yourself what were we talking about?"**_ she thought aloud in fake wonderment, knowing she was doing a pathetic job, probably more awful than anything Goku was coming up with Vegeta, and felt her eyes widen in shock when Bulma answered naturally, obviously not in a correct state of mind, too hypnotized by the beauty of being induced in baked goods to realize that ChiChi was not just carrying on any regular conversation. _

"**Oh…you were asking…about Vegeta…how long…hmph…he's staying"**_ were her mixed up words as she continued munching on her tenth achievement, slightly licking the melted chocolate off her fingers before reaching for another. _**"I'm so sorry ChiChi … I'm devouring all your cookies senselessly in a very disgusting manner I imagine!"**

"**No, no, no Bulma!"**_ ChiChi interrupted hurriedly, not wanting to be hasty. _**"You need energy and these are clearly doing wonders for you. No, you have as many as you want! I have plenty in the kitchen if you want more. Now, Vegeta's staying for quite a long time, isn't he?" **

"**Umm…yeah…I guess…why?"**_ she replied, suddenly curious though it wasn't too perked up, allowing ChiChi hope of sneaking further in and getting an accidental confession out._

"**Oh…I just think nine months with you two together could result… catastrophically! That is…unless he's starting to warm up, which I find slightly close to impossible!"**

_Bulma frowned in thought, thinking over this, still eating through the dozens of cookies that were quickly being reduced to nothing but scattered crumbs._

"**Well, yeah ChiChi! He's…changed…I suppose…I mean he came to your engagement party if that says anything!"**_ she mused, giving exactly the indication ChiChi wanted, for the conversation to hit the topic of the party, not knowing Bulma herself was motivated to come around this subject, having a mystery of her own to resolve as fast as possible. _

"**Oh, yeah! The engagement party! Of course! I was shocked when he showed up! Actually in a tuxedo! How did you do that?"**_ she questioned in alarm so that Bulma was left smiling to herself in glory._

"**It was hell dragging him off to the mall…he was acting like such a baby but in the end he listened…eventually…they all do after all"**

"**Goku said Vegeta seemed happy at the party and I didn't have any complaints when I sent the pair of you dancing along…how did THAT go?"**_ she asked suspiciously, curiosity growing and couldn't believe her ears when Bulma spoke forward._

"**To be honest ChiChi, I don't remember much after that since Goku gave both of us something to drink and I lost most of my memory concerning****last night afterwards…I can't remember anything more…kind of a bummer …Vegeta mentioned that I went a bit loopy though…that's kind of embarrassing"**

_ChiChi has to resist all temptation from allowing her jaw to drop open slack and loose upon hearing this and felt like wringing somebody's neck as soon a possible._

'**Loopy? She was loopy with Vegeta and she doesn't even remember?? What the hell!! I wonder…does Vegeta remember?? Oh, Goku…I hope you're getting answers!!'**

_Just as her thoughts were sent steamily simmering she felt the ground under her vibrate slightly and looking up found Bulma's expression pale and worried as she gazed about her, watching a few of the picture frames she had only previously been admiring shake violently on the granite mantel piece while the dishes on the coffee table in front of them rattled unconditionally, sending a few biscuits askew. Before the two of them could react the vibrations, as soon as they had begun, came to a sudden stop much to Bulma's relief and ChiChi's frantic desperation._

"**Earthquake?"**_ Bulma asked aloud, not really expecting an answer but ChiChi was only too happy to give her one, though it was most definitely not the truth considering she knew with complete sincerity what it really had been._

"**Maybe…"**_ she trailed off in response, hoping with every fiber of her body that Vegeta wouldn't end up murdering her husband to be…_


	33. Kiss And Tell

Pride & Prejudice D

_**Pride & Prejudice **__**D.B.Z**_

_**Chapter Thirty Three**_

Vegeta felt his ears perk up strikingly at Goku's last fascinating statement of debating argument, disbelieving of what he had just heard, daring to understand how even still Goku would attempt to successfully contradict him.

"**What? What did you say?"** he uttered in a lower yet still evenly malicious voice dripping with disgust and loathing for the other Saiyan.

"**I said,"** Goku repeated, shaking fitfully on the inside, frazzled by the confrontation, but remaining strong and held back on the outside, **"that I know you're lying"**

His eyes widening in unappreciated shock Vegeta eyed his opposed with a determined piercing glare, hoping with increased intensity to ward him off the audible scent he had caught on but to no avail, if there was any indication by his next few startling words.

"**You say you hate Bulma"** Goku carried on in a casually yet singly cautioned tone, not willing to start another series of tremors, ChiChi had probably figured out what the first one had been, hopefully though, she may still be clueless but he wasn't taking any risky chances.

"**That is the truth Kakarot. Those are my feelings exactly. I think I have made that pretty clear"**

"**But that's the thing Vegeta…it's not the truth…it's all a cover up…none of it is the truth…just like you not kissing Bulma isn't the truth"**

Goku prepared himself for more anger burst, after shocks, possibly massive destruction for having brought up the dreaded subject once again despite the resistance, but to his surprise, his suspicions were left unfulfilled as Vegeta simply lowered his head, as if bowed, lids closed over gently and his expression, for once in his life, was clearly peaceful, not a single etch of irritancy seen, not a wrinkle of anger visible and every possible sign of disagreement absent.

From where he was standing Goku could not possible have sensed what exactly was running about in blocked masses and collided thoughts of the Saiyan Prince, nor could he have understood the blur of mangled and undetectable emotions within his heart, having his own emotions clearly set out and readable and that was what divided them from each other completely in terms of personality, motives or even as pure blooded Saiyans.

Even if Goku had been given the powerful ability to individually mind read he could never have been able to penetrate this particular mind with it's advanced shield, blocking off intruders from miles away, having only been distorted once in a life time by an absolutely oblivious, lucky person who had taken the opportunity within her own hands. In that slight moment of weakness where Vegeta had actually forgotten about everything that meant his pride to him he let his guard down and lowered the boundaries of the protective force of his very feelings and had allowed that one person to see into everything he actually felt, had revealed more than necessary about his thoughts and she had accepted them heartily, loved them completely and he couldn't even determine whether he deeply regretted this or if it was the best position he could have purposely trapped himself in.

"**This is all so complicated, I should have made a decision long before and carried it out. How difficult can it be? This corrupted planet is eating away at me from inside so naturally I should presumably leave its existence but wouldn't that after all be considered a weakness?"**

Vegeta had spoken this aloud to himself in a hushed voice but Goku's keen hearing had caught it in signal and even though it was rhetorically spoken he somehow felt compelled to speak up, expressing his view on the conversation.

"**Maybe the weakness… isn't about the planet…maybe the weakness is about something else…about somebody else… maybe it's about your feelings for a person…a certain…special…person"**

Unmoving, it seemed as if Vegeta had allowed the words to merely float past him when he had clearly heard them, pushing against him while he tried to analyze them, though when he became honest with himself, it really was a waste of time to analyze since only one person on the entire spherical land had that particular quality, the ability to make him feel and he knew very well who that one person was, she after all, never actually left his mind permanently, her image was basically following him.

"**You're talking about Bulma…"** he whispered unintentionally with his head bowed still, the tip of his hair drooping downwards, a direction it hadn't plummeted towards in a while now but suddenly, it didn't matter to him that he was subjecting to emotion, succumbing to a heart ache and admitting all of this to Goku. All at once, in that blank stretch of infinite time he honestly couldn't care less whether he was shaming his pride, degrading his Saiyan persona, demeaning his authority.

"**Well…if you want to jump to conclusions fine…let's talk about Bulma"** Goku exclaimed in a cheery voice, trying to avoid the horribly dreaded feel in the entire set up, the possibilities of it all backing up on him.

"**Let's not"** Vegeta responded, standing rigidly motionless, his hair blowing rhythmically with the light breeze that was gently blowing about in the opposite direction. Goku frowned in frustration, finding it practically impossible to penetrate through the thick Saiyan's stubborn skull.

"**Why not?"** he simpered, pouting slightly, as if it would actually achieve in gaining any sympathy. **"She's a wonderful person!"**

"**Oh yes she is!" **was Vegeta's comment and Goku found it hard to place whether it had been sarcastic or not.

"**Ugh…yeah! She's so talented and pretty and funny and a… snappy dresser, don't you think?"**

Vegeta turned his head comically to face Goku slightly and smirked, one after quite a long time but that final comment had been much too humorous for him to avoid.

"**A snappy dresser Kakarot? Your fatal attempts are obviously reducing your brain power if that's the best you** **can come up with!"**

Goku's cheeks colored slightly at having been caught out of the game so shortly into the time but by the friendly, seemingly harmless way Vegeta had exposed him it seemed, for now, they could actually press further on the subject.

"**So obviously I did a bad job" **Goku pointed out.

"**Obviously"** Vegeta repeated with a roll of his eyes, resuming his former position so that he was back to staring straight ahead and with nothing better to do Goku began pacing about, wondering at the strange circumstances.

"**So why don't you be straight up Vegeta"** he wondered aloud. **"We both know that your nuts over Bulma…accept I'm the only one who can say it out loud!"**

Noticing the flicker of racing rage in Vegeta's dark eyes Goku took a few cautious steps back but continued.

"**Come on Vegeta! The way you look at her completely gives it away!"**

The slit formed eyes widened at this but still Vegeta refused to move any other way physically.

"**Why not admit it? No one else is here! Just say it. Besides, what's so bad in loving Bulma? I don't blame you!**

**She's a great person…even I'd love her, she's that great!! In fact, you know…if it weren't for ChiChi Bulma might have been…you know!"**

Clearly Goku had made a mistake in admitting that in a strange occurrence of events he might have mistakenly fallen in love for Bulma because Vegeta's slit cut eyes only thinned further from growing anxiety pumped anger**.**

"**Not that I do!!" he **hurriedly added, realizing the ice he had been threading on was not only melting, but cracking precariously.** "I DON'T!! No way! I was just making a point…besides, you two…well…you'd get along great considering she loves you back!" **

Vegeta had no option after that final frugal statement but to face Goku with burning edge.

"**What?"**

"**Yeah, she loves you…it's so obvious it's sad really!!"**

"**Kakarot, where do you come off making these ridiculous** **assumptions? First you suggest that I might possibly be falling for that woman…if that wasn't foolish enough you continue to persist by suggesting that she may possess** **similar feelings for me! Explain yourself!"**

It was an order this time and Goku, even though perfectly independent in most aspects couldn't object against this civility since it meant quite a lot to the case at hand. Folding his arms across his chest he suddenly became strictly serious concerning the following.

"**I have clear evidence for both situations Vegeta. I know she likes you because she told me so…she said she loves you…you just don't know** **that because you were in a coma when it happened and when you woke up you had no clear memory of her actually telling you this…"**

Vegeta felt paralyzed from head to foot, his entire body numb as Goku continued to proceed cuttingly.

"**The way she looked after you when you awoke, the way she admires you, the way she speaks to you, when she talks about you anyone can see that she loves you! With all of that for you why can't you admit you love her back? Because I know you do…"**

"**And how could YOU possibly know any such thing?"**

"**Your actions towards her are in the same way easy to notice. Anything to do with Bulma and your attitude changes. Say Bulma's name and you might not know it but your cheeks turn pink!"**

Swiftly bringing a hand up to his cheek Vegeta felt his cheek and sure enough he could feel the slight extra warmth of a rising flush added there and it inflamed him.

"**You saw us last night…didn't you?"** he questioned with growing resentment and Goku nodded.

"**You know she doesn't remember any of it though…"** he spoke on and Goku nodded once again in approval allowing Vegeta to at least feel triumphant on that one point.

"**I could tell that she's clueless. That drink hit her hard. But I don't think her memory is that important as long as** **you know you did it. It's up to you if you want to tell her"** he ended off before gesturing for him to follow him back into the house, so suddenly it was worrying at first and left Vegeta suspiciously hasty.

"**I think we should be getting inside now. They'll wonder what we're doing and ChiChi would hit the roof if she thought we were sparring during tea time!"** he spoke off with a shrug. **"What can you do? Besides, I know what I needed to know"**

Vegeta sighed with exasperation at this comment and responded with an **"Are you satisfied now Kakarot? You basically figured out on your own that I supposedly have feelings for her and that she returns them! In fact, I was completely useless in your investigation!"**

"**Not true Vegeta. You gave me all the answers, even if not all of them were verbal"**

With something new and mysterious to think about Vegeta followed Goku up the steps and they were about to advance down the seemingly endless corridor when Goku turned around once again for one last tidbit of information, just for the chance of curiosity, now that Vegeta was being so lenient and had dropped the secretive boundaries.

"**One more question. What was it like?"** he asked eagerly and Vegeta simply rolled his eyes at the childish excitement.

"**What was WHAT like Kakarot?"**

"**The kiss?"**

Backing up a bit in distance at this, disbelieving that he was actually being asked such a question Vegeta surprised himself as well as Goku by actually pondering over the question.

"**Good" **he answered back softly in a hushed yet considerate tone. **"Very good…"**


	34. I Know What You Did Last Night

Pride & Prejudice D

_**Pride & Prejudice **__**D.B.Z**_

_**Chapter Thirty Four**_

_Bulma shrugged lightly without much fear or anxiety, the proposal of possible multiple tremors not very traumatizing as she bit into yet another glorious, taste bud flaming cookie, so far in edible number in fact that ChiChi had lost count and given up, she had more important things on her mind to tackle._

'**Maybe,'**_ she thought anxiously, chewing unintentionally on her finger, _**'Vegeta really doesn't love Bulma and now he's taking his anger out on Goku! But…I saw them yesterday… and Bulma has literally displayed her affection on a silver platter for welcome! Ouch! I spend way to much time in the kitchen!'**

_Gazing over at her best friend sideways with mixed thoughts she remembered the whole criteria of the 'loopy' incident, the missing piece in the trivial puzzle of Bulma's memory. Surely that couldn't result in her loss of affection, even if she couldn't remember the extent of her affection._

"**Do you really not remember what happened after that first dance at the party?"**_ she pursued so that Bulma raised an eyebrow in a cocky threatening arch._

"**ChiChi, your curiosity on the party is getting me suspicious. I'd be getting anxious if I had my memory but the truth is, I was hoping you could tell me what happened to me last night. To be honest…I don't think Vegeta told me the truth…"**

'**OF COURSE NOT! THE GOD FORESAKEN GUY WAS LIP LOCKING WITH YOU OUTSIDE AND NOW HE'S ASHAMED OF DOING SO! OBVIOSULY, IF YOU CAN'T REMEMBER WHY WOULD HE TRY TO REMIND YOU?'**

_ChiChi dug her fingernails deep into her burning palms, clenching her hands so tightly her knuckles had gone shocking blinding white, those were her efforts to keep the words tightly locked behind the cage of her lips, knowing very well that wild horses couldn't drag the truth out. To Bulma she merely gave her a small smile before trying to proceed with the conversation, her attempts in vain._

"**You don't remember even in the slightest?" **_she urged, hoping to force out a miniature piece of information at least, even if the interrogation had just taken a spinning turn for the worst it seemed._

"**ChiChi, I'm being perfectly truthful when I say I'm blank. Please understand. I was actually hoping you could tell whether I was acting like a total nutcase …"**

_Trailing off with a slight blush she began to shy off in a meek voice, reaching out for another cookie but managing to resist the temptation all of a sudden, her appetite had meaningfully just vanished._

"**You weren't being a total nutcase…if it's any consolation my dad was worse…"**_ ChiChi comforted but Bulma seemed to pale at this piece of information, seeming absolutely depressed and ChiChi decided she would attack then and there, when the victim was most vulnerable._

"**Bulma, what do you think of Vegeta?"**

_Bulma gazed up so fast a burst of blinding pain shot through her neck but she couldn't have cared less at the stretch of her inner muscle, she was still obsessing over the question at hand. _

"**What do I think of…Vegeta?? Umm…well…"**_ she stuttered in surprise. _**"Vegeta is well…he's umm…it's kind of hard to explain…I think Vegeta is…nice?"**

"**Nice? Nice?"**_ ChiChi uttered back in disbelief on lack of suitable adjectives. _**"That's all you have? Nothing more…descriptive? Informative? Emotional?"**

"**Emotional??****Why the hell would I be emotional?" **_Bulma asked suggestively but you could see the slight rise of pink in her cheeks, a tinge ChiChi picked up on in an instant, hardly believing her luck was changing._

"**Okay…let me elaborate on my question…what do you FEEL about Vegeta?"**

_The change in Bulma's expression was so comical ChiChi had to stifle back the wave of exploding laughter upon seeing the pink face turn a soft snow white then grow back pink, flush a brilliant red and then resume an even paler white so that she might have looked dead if her eyes weren't wide open and alive, the deep sea blue colour reflected immensely with anxiety written within them._

"**Feel? What I feel?"**_ she stuttered and ChiChi realized they might finally be headed somewhere and continued to encourage._

"**Yes, Bulma. What do you feel about Vegeta? That is a very simple question!"**

"**That…that is a very…generalized question!" **_she informed back in a shaky voice, moving her arms about to give expression, gesturing with her hands while she bit her lip. _**"I feel a lot of things about Vegeta…there's a lot of blurred up…stuff! Yeah, all that stuff just…gathers…in between the…the tension"** _she ended off, rubbing her hands together indicating the friction created to resemble the mentioned 'tension'._

"**But Bulma, that doesn't necessarily explain how you feel…"**_ ChiChi further contradicted so that Bulma was thrashed with a wave of ongoing panic._

"**Yeah, well, it's rather…complicated!"**_ she blurted in a flustered voice. _**"I mean, it's not hatred but…okay, there is a small portion of hatred…you know, when he gets buggy…but it's really tiny"**_ She brought her index finger and thumb and displayed the minimum hatred. _**"Tiny…barely noticeable…so small that-"**

"**Bulma! I get it!" **_ChiChi interrupted impatiently, wondering why this wasn't proceeding as planned, the ray of light which had only just begun shining was becoming more or less dimmer with each word spoken between the two of them but she refused to let go of this catch, they were so close. _

"**Oh! Sorry ChiChi" **_Bulma apologized before carrying on. _**"Anyway, it's small hatred so there are obviously other…feelings in the middle of this colossal, catastrophic, delusional, cataclysmic, disastrous, mangled, messed up, distraught-"**

"**For Kami's sake Bulma, could you stop stalling!!"**_ ChiChi erupted so that Bulma leaned back into the sofa, teeth gritted in worry but ChiChi was at the end of her tether._

"**Bulma, I have to be straight with you! Seriously! This is going to be so…odd! But, I have to know! I just, can't stand you being aimless about this entire epidemic, blabbering off meaningless descriptive linguist language!"**

_Stopping to catch her breath she placed a hand on her chest, allowing herself to inhale and exhale before calmly asking the question._

"**Bulma, do you love Vegeta?"**

_Eyes widened, petrified by the looks of it, Bulma was unable to adjust to the inability of movement, having her body frozen, her blood stop cold in her veins when the question hit her._

"**Do…do…I…love Vegeta?" **_she asked, more to herself than ChiChi but her companion nodded in response anyway_**. "Well, I don't know...I can't be…I mean-"**

"**Bulma"**

"**YES! FINE!! YES! YES! YES! YES! I CONFESS!! I LOVE VEGETA AND I DON'T KNOW WHAT TO DO?? IT JUST HAPPENED AND I COULDN'T STOP MYSELF!! I mean, before he just seemed like a big jerk but over the months he became so much nicer, thoughtful, kinder when he spoke to me and then with the whole Yamcha scene, when he rescued me, from there and then I****saw him talking to Goku!! And then when he went into that coma…ChiChi, I felt like I WAS THE ONE DYING when I found him just lying there…helpless…breathing and helpless…when he asked ME to help him!! ME! VEGETA WAS ASKING ME FOR HELP!! I just knew then that I couldn't push the feeling away anymore…that it was too late and that I…I LOVED HIM!! And then when he was unconscious****I thought I was too late once again…except this time in telling him the truth! So I told him that night! I whispered to him right before he slipped and then at the hospital…he didn't remember what I'd said…HE DOESN'T REMEMBER!! And then…at the party…I don't know…there was a connection…I just know it…I FELT it! When we were dancing I was so HAPPY!! That****has to mean something! That just HAS to!! I mean, he can still be a bit too proud and stubborn but I know…deep down…that he's a great person…more than he lets on because…I've seen that great person! I've spoken to him, enjoyed speaking to him! For once, we would just talk…we wouldn't argue at all! It felt wonderful! I know we still fight…have stupid little arguments…and sometimes I feel like I hate him but I know…those are just a few distractions…I know in real life that yes, I do love him!! I'm just so afraid…afraid to SAY it again…it was so DIFFICULT the first time and now he doesn't even remember…I can't say it again…I can't face rejection like that…it'll break my heart…break it completely…"**

_Bulma had gone practically hysterical, silent tears trailing down her cheeks, her face so pale you could see the streams they created on her cheeks vibrantly dark against her skin. ChiChi couldn't believe everything that had just been confessed in her trust, expecting a few truths but not this entire mass of endured secret love._

"**Oh Bulma! Is that really how you feel about Vegeta?"**

"**Yes. Truly and irrevocably…I do…"**_ Bulma answered back, her throat stinging, wiping away a tear away as ChiChi reached out forward and placed a hand over Bulma's free one which just lay there limply._

"**Then why not tell him? I know you're afraid but what's life without a few risky chances…especially if it could lead to being with the one you love…forever even"**_ she persisted but Bulma already had an answer for that._

"**That's just it ChiChi…'if'…this all an 'if'! Also…he's Vegeta. Even if he has become a better person he's still Vegeta and the Vegeta we all know doesn't appreciate falling in love, especially with someone of a different race. It would be too much of a nightmare for him…"**

"**I don't think so. I think he'd be rather…happy about it"**_ ChiChi mused thoughtfully, wondering at the Saiyan Prince's hypocrisy, making Bulma frown._

"**What do you mean? That…that's impossible! You know something, don't you?"**

"**Bulma…you asked me what you were up to last night that you can't remember while you were drunk and since you answered my question I will now answer yours"**

_Bulma nodded apprehensively, preparing herself for whatever blow she was about to face._

"**Number one, Vegeta did lie, about quite a lot in fact. He lied about getting drunk, because that's the most important thing. That is not to be judged considering how chummy you two got in a WRONG state of mind"**

"**Wrong state?"**

"**Oh, Bulma. You don't know the half of it! It is so blatantly clear that Vegeta has feelings for you. Take a look into his eyes Bulma…his eyes…they're a dead give away!"**

"**ChiChi, that could be anything in his eyes, like the sun!" **

"**Okay, fine! How about this? When you got drunk you had to go outside to get some fresh air and found Vegeta already there, which would be perfectly alright if it hadn't taken you forever to come back inside so that Goku and I went out searching for you and saw you two making out like there was NO TOMORROW!!"**

_Bulma's eyes had widened so far she could literally feel the skin around her eyes stretching beyond limits, could feel the blood draining from her face, her mouth gaping open senselessly as she attempted to digest what ChiChi had just told her. It was as if her throat was blocked because suddenly she couldn't force the words out, they were clogged inside her so it felt as if she were choking on them._

_As if that weren't enough, she thought she might have had a heart attack when she heard the cheerful call of _**"Okay, I know there's chocolate chip cookies in here so we're coming!!"**_ and in walked Goku, Vegeta tailing behind, looking particularly grim in expression, looking everywhere except towards Bulma…_


	35. How The Cookie Crumbles

Pride & Prejudice D

_**Pride & Prejudice **__**D.B.Z**_

_**Chapter Thirty Five **_

Vegeta wasn't exactly sure how much more of the ensuing small talk he could take, only that the conversation at hand was just about killing him, even with his many attempts of blocking it off in action. It wasn't much surprise the visit had taken a turn for the worst considering Goku and ChiChi were the only ones trying to make something out of the speech with their constant irritating buzzing whereas Bulma remained strangely silent on her views, flushed in the face and he just preferred to not say anything just for the sake of remaining in personal solitude, extra cautious of his space all of a sudden.

His mind was still spinning from what he'd just been through, his lower Saiyan's interrogation freshly stuck in place, his own stupidly vulnerable position vivid, how he had subjected to potentially unforgivable weakness so easily and then the final slip up, the confirmation that he truly did possess feelings beyond the natural limit, feelings for, who else was there, Bulma.

'**Good…very good'**

Those three words had done it, brought about some form of finality in his confrontation, his debate, his argument against himself ended, that no matter how much he pretended he was a solid rock and unemotionally apt he couldn't always be so for at long last someone had finally shown him the light, exposed his true colors and revealed his hidden feelings and it certainly wasn't Goku…

"**Hey Vegeta! You want a cookie! They're brilliant!" **Goku called out loud from the couch across and Vegeta's thoughts vanished momentarily as his gaze bolted up. Goku was holding the plate of piling chocolate chip cookies, ChiChi fourth on the double batch, triumphantly, the grin plastered across his face thoroughly satisfied, holding one singular biscuit towards him, the sole survivor that was escaping the clutches of his black hole of a stomach.

"**Go on Vegeta!"**

Gaze swiftly veering over to the person who had said this he found it shocking that Bulma had finally spoken up, something she hadn't done once so far during his presence here, appearing somewhat exhausted, and yet she was now praising the cookie he was being urged to try.

"**They really are brilliant! You'll love it!"**

With all three pairs of eyes locked on him Vegeta felt no other option under the pressure filled circumstances but to reach out and carefully pry the cookie out of Goku's seemingly tightened grip as he suffered in the give away and bring it up to his mouth, taking a slow bite as he tried to avoid the gazes averted his way and begin chewing, finding it quite firmly one of the best earthling foods he had ever tasted, though he wasn't willing to admit this.

"**Well…?"** Goku asked, stretching the word longer than necessary but Vegeta refused point blank to answer with his mouth full, not completely at a loss at common eating manners unlike his unworthy accomplice. Eyebrows slanting downwards in that forever poised diagonal direction of his typical frown he closed his eyes gently so as to avoid a manic Goku and his eager expression as well as the two women's curious stares, the calm infinite void of blackness much more enjoyable.

Except it wasn't just that, he was being constantly haunted by that 'evil seducing blue haired earthling female's' image, as he had so dutifully nicknamed her, not daring enough to merely utter her name, it was like poison in his mouth.

Excruciatingly tempting poison made from a fine elixir of the purest substance that seemed to be pouring out in streams, rivers, overflowing seas in a glorified fountain produced simply for him to bask in its fresh scent and perfect taste. Nevertheless, it was by all means, still poison, despite its kindly appearing nature and redeeming qualities.

"**It was fairly good…" **Vegeta hesitantly complimented with a swallow of the cookies final remains, shaking off the temptations of reaching out for the poison and simply drinking it down, and Goku for some apparent reason felt compelled to punch the air in triumph and well earned achievement though Vegeta could not for the life of him understand why.

"**Yeah! I know you couldn't be that harsh…no one can resist ChiChi's cookies!! Looks like you've gone soft on us Saiyan Prince…I can't believe ChiChi's not celebrating on hearing you say that!! There should be a party celebration going on at this rate"**

Coloring slightly Vegeta opened his eyes to gaze over at ChiChi who's mouth was gaping slightly in astonishment while she clutched where her heart would be with both hands as if she had witnessed a miracle, which was exactly what it had been, even if Vegeta was blissfully unaware of it.

"**A compliment…from Vegeta's mouth??"** Bulma cried ecstatically, sitting up in her seat, edging forward and squinting her eyes as if observing him closer, causing Vegeta to be put under some very uncomfortable circumstances as he pressed further into his sofa chair, trying as best he could to ignore the growing addition of warmth to his face.

"**I don't believe it…it's impossible!"** she challenged playfully, resting an arm on her knee and resting her chin on her hand, gazing intently at him, as if he were one of her scientific observations on terms of experimentation, clueless for him in all cases.

"**It's not impossible…" **Vegeta spoke up in his defense and Bulma's eyes widened with sarcastic enjoyment while Goku attempted to hold back his laughter on watching the whole scene, going blood red in the face from holding his breath so severely.

"**Goku did something!"** Bulma guessed hypothetically. **"You could never be this nice to just anybody! It's not in your nature!"  
"And what would you know about my nature?" **Vegeta asked curiously, leaning forward as well and finding it, in the least, shocking when he realized the distance between his and Bulma's faces was not too far.

"**Please!"** Bulma sniffed in high air. **"Spare me! I've had you in the house for five months Vegeta! After having to do your laundry I think I know enough about you! I already know whether you're boxers or briefs!"**

Vegeta knew his cheeks were probably aflame at this comment and didn't dare check to see what condition Goku was in, not wanting to see the Saiyan in a fit full of giggles, bursting to laugh out loud at this piece of information Bulma had thrown in his face.

"**I think I would know your nature!" **Bulma continued, not aware of the blow she had smacked and Vegeta was focused on not letting it show and resumed the verbal fight.

"**If only"** Vegeta sighed in fake pity, smirking to himself, finding the scene quite to his liking. **"You barely know me…"**

"**That's not true…I know quite enough about you…"** Bulma insisted with determination ringing in her voice.** "Enough to make up all sorts of conclusions…"**

"**Conclusions is it…" **Vegeta pondered with mild interest. **"I'm afraid I cannot be brought to a conclusion despite your meager attempts to do so…I'm not as simple as you…"**

"**Simple? Simple!!"** Bulma shrieked in conditional horror now. **"I am anything but!! If you even knew me in the least you would know that!! Just goes to show…you know absolutely nothing about blue haired females whatsoever"**

Sitting back, glowering but not wanting to continue the argument, though not due to lack of support but rather the extent of it and what he might blurt out, he crossed his arms over his chest and remained quite silent while Goku attempted to ease up the tension.

"**Woah! You two seriously need to relax!! You're both so tensed up!! That's not too good for you!! How 'bout some more cookies!!" **

"**That's alright Goku…" **Bulma interrupted politely just as Vegeta opened his mouth to extract some explicit comment, and began to rise. **"I think Vegeta and I should just be heading back home…"**

Vegeta's eyes widened in surprise after hearing the prospect of cutting the visit early and began to rise more than eagerly as Goku and ChiChi followed.

"**Is everything alright?"** ChiChi asked with much concern.

"**Oh of course! It's just getting late and I think we've taken up enough of your time! Don't worry ChiChi! Nothing serious! Thank you so very much though! This was a very…interesting visit…and I LOVED…ABSOLUTELY LOVED those cookies!!"**

Vegeta couldn't believe his streak of sudden good luck as he sat relaxed in the passenger seat of the hover car ten short minutes later as it began to rise at Bulma commands, who was waving her last few goodbyes at the soon to be married couple.

"**Don't they look so cute together?"** she squeaked after withdrawing back in and rolling the window up, drawing the hover car into steady gear so that they could begin heading for the main road.

"**I'd rather not comment"** Vegeta grumbled in his regular moody voice, not finding it rather comforting, sitting next to Bulma, especially after that talk with Goku which had got all his senses frazzled and his intentions muddled.

"**Oh come on! You have to admit they were meant for each other and now with those cookies…they're set for life!!"  
"Oh yes…because everyone wants to spend there life over eating! I can't see why I don't just fall into the same death trap of sentimental rubbish!!"** he ended off spitefully, venom thrown into practically every word of the hateful sentence so that Bulma actually paled, looking slightly hurt if anything could be said about the way her lips were only just trembling and her eyes seemed to sparkle more than ever. Noticing this change in her Vegeta's own eyes widened in irrevocable silence, disturbed by how sensitive she really was so that she was on the tilting verge of breaking out into soft pleading tears. He hadn't meant to be so nasty about it, had rather have kept his opinion to himself but somehow, her being the one he was yelling at, inflamed his desire to torment her even more, overcoming his weaker need to apologize, he found hurting her so enjoyable, even though it pained him to see her being cut so emotionally.

"**Honestly…you humans have the seemingly ridiculous habit of falling for emotional traumas such as Kakarot's example!" **he went on even though he wished he wouldn't, knowing he was hurting her even more so but his will would not give in. **"Such foolish relationships always seem to end in disaster…and yet people** **such as yourself continue to suggest how magnificent its attributes are, blinded to the colossal damage it actually causes upon its worthless victims-"**

Violently the car came to a sudden jerk at a desolate corner of an unoccupied street and Vegeta lurched forward but before he could express his anger and discomfort in tremendous yells Bulma had left the confinement of the hover car, slamming the door vehemently behind her, stomping off into the distance at top speed. Unaware of what else to do, Vegeta threw his own door open and relentlessly stood out to let the cold air thrash him mercilessly. Not considerably effective in bringing him down he still sat back in the car to retrieve the navy blue stitch sweater Bulma had insisted on packing for him and pulled it on, getting his hair slightly messed up before chasing after her with no idea of what to say.

"**WOMAN!! GET BACK HERE!!"** he shouted into the clear air but Bulma had absolutely no intentions of doing any such thing and increased her already maddening and quick paced stride.

"**STOP BEING AN IDIOT!! GET BACK IN THE CAR!!"** he continued yelling, still in pursuit of her and when she still didn't turn around he broke into a jog to approach her side and in doing so reached out and caught hold of her arm, forcing her to turn around and face him and his eyes went literally shot at her paled expression, her silent tears trailing down the curves of her perfectly rounded face, eyes starry like crystals as they over flew with ensuing tears uncontrollably, reflecting the hurt he'd stabbed over and over and over until she just couldn't take it anymore, it was bleeding inside of her, bleeding her heart away.

"**Let me GO!!"** she shrieked, pulling at her arm but to no avail, the Saiyans grip surpassed her efforts far beyond.

"**I DO NOT TAKE ORDERS FROM YOU, EVEN THOUGH, SURPRISINGLY, YOU SEEM ASSURED THAT I DO!! NOW STOP ACTING LIKE A FOOL AND GET BACK IN THE CAR!!"**

"**WELL VEGETA, THIS MAY BE NEWS TO YOU BUT I DO NOT TAKE ORDERS FROM YOU!!"**

"**This time, YOU WILL!! STOP THESE DRAMATICS AND GET BACK IN THE CAR!! YOUR DISTRESS ON SOMETHING SO STUPID IS GETTING OUT OF HAND!! SO JUST END IT" **

"**OH.MY.GOD!! SHUT UP!! **Bulma suddenly screamed on the pitch of her lungs screamed, using the last of her energy as she tried to jerk her arms out of his clutches. **"SHUT UP!! SHUT UP!! SHUT UP!! SHUT UP!! SHUT UP VEGETA!! SHUT UP!!"**

Her deafening vocals caused Vegeta so much pain he made the staking mistake of releasing her momentarily to cover his ears for protection and taking advantage of having her arms free of his grip she broke into her speed walking, trying to escape by turning into the corner and walking into an empty lifeless park, running soon enough as fast as possible while Vegeta, after recovering from momentary shock, still tailing after in desperation…


	36. A Hate For Love

Pride & Prejudice D

_**Pride & Prejudice **__**D.B.Z**_

_**Chapter Thirty Six**_

_Bulma felt the escaping tears stinging against her paling skin and wiped them out of existence with the back of her icy hand but as soon as they were forced away more would follow in a never ending possibly infinite process so that she eventually gave up, allowing them to continue forming branching rivers across her cheeks. She could hear Vegeta's footsteps behind her, growing faster with each of her dreading heart beats, the sadness of his words consuming her further as she turned to her left speedily and found herself in the area of a stretch of empty green grass, mowed out well with one tall standing yet slightly withered old tree off in the distance and with that picture locked in her mind she began treading towards it's silhouette as the sun began to set, engulfing the skies above in a soft warm pink glow. _

"**Death trap…sentimental rubbish…that's all he thinks it is…an idiot's game!" **_she muttered in a low effortless voice to herself and it came out in haggard breaths, as if she was having difficulty breathing but it was only the feel of her heart breaking into decaying pieces, crumbling off into endless nothing, taking away all her hopes, fantasies and dreams with it, simple as that._

"**ChiChi was wrong…"**_ she continued to mumble in a hoarse voice, unable to and strictly not wanting to believe it but assured of the fact now at long last. _**"Vegeta doesn't love me…he loves no one…he is incapable of love… he doesn't feel love at all…I was stupid not to see it…"**

_Her tears were so set, layered out before her eyes that she had difficulty seeing where that tree she had located only a moment ago was and in the end gave up with a defeated sigh and fell to her knees in the dried up ancient grass of the park, her hands clasped together upon her knees with her head bent down, covered by the layers of her blue hair being carried effortlessly with the harsh wind around her. She shivered at its majestic force and hugged herself tightly for warmth in the extra layer of her favorite grey turtleneck but somehow it just wouldn't help her, the warmth was just so phony, so fake it seemed to have no effect whatsoever for it was her inner self that was freezing, the inner self which needed consoling to warm it once again. _

"**WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING??" **

_She was so used to that voice, the way it always addressed her in that familiar commanding tone that she didn't have the energy to waste in turning around to look at Vegeta who was striding towards her in fury, the ground shaking under his feet as he approached her. Not wanting to be forced up by the likes of the Saiyan Prince she got up on her own exhausted accord, brushing off blades of dead grass that had clung to the denim of her jeans with their remaining, nearly evaporated exposure of dew, before bringing her arms round her once again, refusing point blank to turn around until she was left with no option and that was only when Vegeta placed both his hands on her shoulders and whipped her around to face him, the space between them nothing, he was literally pressing her against him, his face thunderstruck and blazing._

"**WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU?? HAVE YOU LOST YOUR MIND … STOMPING OUT OF THE CAR TO NOWHERE!!"**_ he yelled but she could only hesitantly beg him to leave her alone, she was much to broken down and this only resulted in angering him further though he did manage to lower his voice so as not to attract any unwanted negative attention._

"**YOU expect me to just leave you alone after what just happened!! What is wrong with you earthlings!! One abuse towards your precious fantasy****of 'love' and you are completely incapable of acts of sanity…acting as if the entire universe revolves around your petty desires!!"**

"**Vegeta…stop it…"**

"**No! I refuse to stop it until you get it into your head! Love is useless!! It's pathetic! It's absolutely pointless!!"**

"**Vegeta, STOP IT!!"**

"**It is a disgrace to all life forms, to submit to something so weak…love! Look at you! Look at what its doing to you and the rest of your naïve race! It's all a trap!"**

"**STOP IT!! Vegeta, just STOP IT!! You don't know!!"**_ Bulma screamed into his face with blinding white hot fury, the pain in her heart had become so intense that she so needed to release it somehow and so she was taking it out on Vegeta, the one who surely deserved it, he had caused it and he had become thankfully silent, listening to her intently. _**"You don't know anything!! You don't know about relationships…about people…about****emotions…YOU DON'T KNOW ANYTHING ABOUT LOVE!!"**

_Each of her words were like a strike to his ego and with each word his grip on her shoulders became tighter, until she was gritting with the pain of his nails digging through the fabric of her coat, ripping through the cloth of her shirt, piercing into her skin deeply._

"**Is that what you really think?"**_ he whispered in a dark tone Bulma had never heard him use before and she sensed the danger it held, the pure unconditional danger that signaled that she had him so inflamed he could do anything at this point. _**"You think I don't know about such things…about the mere emotions you claim to be so confusing to understand…about this idiocy that is 'love'?"**_ His words came out in venomous breaths that blew hot on her face; he had forced them that close so that their noses were nearly touching and she could see each and every cut and scratch etched across his determined face, so captivating were they that they brought about a new desire in her as she trembled with unknown fear she had never felt flowing through her veins, her heart caught in her throat. Yet she still had that ounce of determination left within her and she nodded firmly to indicate her answer with one minded focus._

"**How could you be so blinded? Why do you do this to yourself when you know it's a caged up plot to capture you? Why would you want to break yourself?"**_ he questioned further, seemingly fiery in Bulma's eyes who was all of a sudden, starting to grow strangely afraid of him. _**"Answer me why don't you! Why are you so insolent on the matter, why do you insist to go with it when in the end it will always hurt you??"**

_He was so close now Bulma wasn't sure whether the lack of any supposed distance was comforting or disturbing to her being but in that one thoughtful moment she knew, discovered and solved the truth in Vegeta and it was the only comfort that kept her assured and forced her to go on and crack the code, bring the truth out from him._

"**Vegeta…why are you so afraid?"**_ she whispered so that his eyes widened in confusion and he even seemed to shockingly back away a bit, yet kept his rigid composure firm._

"**What?"**

"**Why are you so afraid? Why are you so afraid of love?"**_ she repeated for good measure, elaborating as she did as he gaze fell down to her shaking hands, she didn't want to see the expression written across his face upon asking the question, it might just kill her._

"**What? You think I'm afraid of…love?"**_ he asked back, the humor and disbelief not even bothered to be disguised in his voice but it didn't dare to down hearten Bulma in the least._

"**Yes Vegeta…why? I mean…I already know…but I'd enjoy hearing it from you…" **_She was blatantly toying him with now and they were both aware of this fact even as she continued to wind him around in her web of tricking words, deceiving him and at the same time aiding him further._

"**Fine…don't tell me…don't say a word…because I already know…it's clearly written across your face…each and every word sticking out…"**_ she continued with an eager note in her voice, excited with a burning temptation that she could finally, at long last, say it to him. _**"You're afraid…you're afraid of love…because you're afraid…of getting hurt…"**

_Deathly silence ensued in which neither could utter a single word, a single breath, both were held back, digesting what had been said with reluctant acceptance in the minor moment of the extended patch of time, it was too much for one saying, had crossed the boundaries of emotional restrictions on their limits in the relationship._

"**You don't know how wrong you are…"**_ he breathed vehemently at long last, breaking the soundless stretch so that she found herself choking from the warmth she felt in her face, the increased tightened lock on her arms that Vegeta had, but she was desperate to prove him wrong. _

"**Oh really?"**_ she questioned with sarcastic curiosity. _**"Tell me dear Saiyan Prince then…what do you know about emotions…what do you know about love?" **

_The question had struck him so hard and upon hearing his title used in such ridicule the anger became clear in his black eyes that Bulma had an up close view off._

"**You want to know what I know about love. You of all people want to know such a thing from me…fine! I'll tell you my exact views on your precious love!! I despise it! Am sickened by it! Loathe it with every fiber of my living body; my desire for such a putrid and foul thing to be destroyed is so great! I know love****is weak, makes it's victims weaker, for only the weak would subject to it…it's pathetic…pitiful…but…. I also know this…no matter how badly I describe love to be, how horrid I find the thought****of it to be I know…that once you have fallen for it…you cannot hate love…you cannot hate it and this is why I simply can't stand it… the fact that I cannot hate love…"**

_Bulma couldn't believe her ears as Vegeta ended off with this final statement, her heart suddenly feeling unfamiliar warmth around it…warmth she thought she'd never feel again but which was undoubtedly there. Vegeta's grip had loosened some what on her shoulders as he leaned his forehead lightly against hers, gazing downwards, one of his hands had loosely trailed down her arm, finding her hand and entwining his fingers within hers so that their hands were locked together and he was radiating such a soothing feel Bulma suddenly felt uncontrollable happiness consume her but to her dismal shock, Vegeta seemed to be growing with each passing second, pained. _

"**Vegeta…you cannot hate love…"**_ she repeated his words with gentle light breaths that he fell on his skin so that he closed his eyes softly when they were blown on him, tickling his skin, dancing on his lips. _**"So why do you try?"**

_His eyes flew open in a shot at her question, the shock revealed in those black mysterious orbs that seemed to fog up any clear drawn image so that she was oblivious of his feelings which had gone haywire inside him. Taking a dazed step back from her Vegeta gazed down at himself, as if for the first time realizing who he was and it hurt him deeply when he received the answer. _

_Her arms hanging in mid air now from when she had been holding Vegeta she remained motionless, afraid to say a word as he staggered back and then, without warning he was the one who fell to his knees, landing with a soft thump, random dandelions flying up at the force of pressure, exploding around him before drifting off with the wind, leaving him with tufts of his hair blowing into the opposite direction, exiling him from the rest of the world, isolating himself._

_Except Bulma refused to let it happen again, watch Vegeta disclose himself form everyone and everything thinking he could take care of himself when he clearly needed another to share the burden of his pain. _

"**I can't…I just can't…I can't stand this anymore…" **_he ushered lightly, he had collapsed so low, his breathing growing lighter as Bulma remained with her mind in a blur of confusion, she wished she could simply shut her brain off for a while, it was becoming torturous._

_Taking a few cautious steps forward she knelt down in front of Vegeta to level herself with him as he comfortably sat himself down and began plucking at the grass blades, scattering them out so that they playfully blew away._

"**Can't stand what Vegeta?" **_she persisted gently, reaching out daringly and taking one of his hands in both of hers and bringing it up to her chest so that he could feel the drumming of her heart beat which had gone past regular reverberation. The urge to make him hear it was so random, Bulma wasn't sure what had made her do it but something had just made her and now Vegeta was gazing up at her and for the first time in her life she was sure that what was there could be mistaken for nothing but pain, not physical but emotional pain. _

"**I am a Saiyan Prince…but does that even mean anything anymore…" **


	37. Strength Of Weakness

Pride & Prejudice D

_**Pride & Prejudice **__**D.B.Z**_

_**Chapter Thirty Seven**_

Vegeta let the morbid words slip out and unfathomably escape, not possessing enough inner self control to attempt to hold them back, the truth in them was so blindly visible he felt it was time he finally say it aloud.

"**Of course it does Vegeta!"** Bulma exclaimed, leaning towards him with worry displayed across her face, feeling she had finally unintentionally triggered him to a point of insanity, something she had not set out to do at all, still clasping onto his hand as if meant dear life to her, something no one had ever felt in his presence, in his distinction, at his touch. **"Vegeta…being a Saiyan Prince…that's a big deal…isn't it?"** she questioned but no matter how hard she tried she couldn't remove the hint of doubt the question held in itself.

"**You would think that…"** Vegeta responded with bitter humor at hearing her contradict his point so tactfully. **"Being around me that would be your natural impression…but now I've actually stopped to think about it and I wonder…I dare to question…does it mean anything now that my race is extinct"**

"**Oh Vegeta!" **Bulma cried with an extended plea, unable to bring herself to deal with the circumstances. **"Please stop! You're not making any sense! Being a Saiyan Prince is important… it has always meant something to you…it does mean something even still…you're just…slightly…shaken up…"**

Gazing over at her frantic face Vegeta was full of secret admiration and comfort that he hid in her favor and so with his free hand brought it up to her face and gently trailed a finger down her cheek, wiping away the remaining tears while she froze, holding her breath in suspense, unable to get over the shock that he was willingly touching her, and his action was as gentle as ever, the notion even more so.

"**I am not, as you are probably wondering, going insane"** he assured her, his voice carrying more feeling than he wanted it to betray but he carried on, purposely knowing this fact. "**I am merely thinking over this and it seems to me that I have been living on a pretend fantasy that has made my life seem meaningful…"**

Bulma eyes widened to such an extent he could see the whites of them under the sparkling, starting to tear up turquoise blues she possessed, her mouth slightly open, and her paling expression begging for some form of elaboration on the rash pretense while he thought of a suitable example to support.

"**Look at Kakarot!"** he suddenly began with the subject to offer and Bulma blinked back at him in confusion so that he was forced to carry on, and reveal even to himself why he was so unsuccessful in everything he wanted. **"He…the son a third grade Saiyan post guard with absolutely no memory of** **his proud Saiyan heritage, raised by the likes of an old earthling man and yet he seems to find everything perfect!"**

The pure jealousy was clearly drawn in his voice, bitter as ever as he went into the discrimination of detail. **"He is full of lively optimism that drives me insane and has managed** **to settle himself down in meek society with no problems to his credit! He has befriended earthlings and Namekians alike, gotten** **himself just about mated with an earthling woman and even with all these weaknesses, he still proves to be growing stronger, energy continuously increasing!" **

Bulma felt neither the blows nor insults of this critical explanation but rather began understanding what Vegeta was heading towards and it was confirmed once Vegeta carried on.

"**I, however, was born the Prince of all Saiyans with a royal title and I was feared and respected throughout the cosmos, in far away galaxies. I lead armies, conducted battles, and nearly became the ruler of my planet! Yet, I failed, was brought down by that wretched lizard! Brought to earth by the likes of Kakarot and look at me! Here I am, dressed like one of them, having to restrain my potential, hated by nearly everybody around me with absolutely no clue of what happiness might possibly feel like, having to feel angry** **all the time without any particular reason, reduced to the habit of living up to a title that has no significance any more"**

Somehow the situation Bulma was trying to resolve suddenly changed completely from its form, the purpose and supposed reason of the complexity altered utterly. It wasn't just about what Vegeta felt about love or hurt or even her anymore that seemed to be getting in the way of everything she dreamed of but rather what Vegeta seemed to feel about himself, all his concerns and insecurities he was suddenly pouring out that replaced the position of offender.

"**Vegeta…I didn't know…I never knew… that you felt this way"** she managed to put together in a strung up wary sentence, squeezing his hand tighter to give him at least some form of comfort but Vegeta merely smirked at her display of affection and sympathy, though his fingers had tensed up on her face.

"**How could you?"** he simply asked without consideration. **"I've never much appreciated wallowing in self-pity, it's useless, and so never actually told anybody what I felt…until…now…"**

"**Well…you should more often then…"** Bulma urged playfully, letting his hand drop limply in his own lap unrepentantly but only to shift herself and collapse on her rear, sitting down next to him and hugging her arms around her legs, leaning her chin on her knees, allowing her hair to cushion the surface while Vegeta observed her quizzically, taken aback by her random change in personality and mood before carrying on.

"**Tell people about my feelings? That is weakness at the pinnacle of its deceit!" **

"**Umm…yes, I'm sure it is…but I guarantee…when you talk to people about your feelings…they always seem to get better…" **

Vegeta seemed completely disbelieving, not sure of what promise he could trust Bulma with, the doubt was there, that she would not understand what the issues with him were and where they stood, would scoff mercilessly and brush them away but then he thought back to what they'd been through, how they'd pulled through for each other and lead themselves up to this very point and it came to him then, as a fiery spark of hope.

He loved her. That was that. He loved her. Of course, he had no crazy mind spun intentions of telling her so anytime soon but if he did truly love her after all then wouldn't that mean he should feel perfectly free to tell her how he felt, at least about himself, if not her.

Of course, there was the subject of his pride, how he would be demeaning all self-respect but he suddenly found himself wondering, was it all even worth it? It wasn't. It just wasn't worth it if he would remain feeling so bitter inside himself, angry at possibly everything that he came across, hating himself for practically no reason at all. What was the point in being the descendent of a mighty people, a warrior race, the Saiyans, who achieved so much and were respected throughout the universe if he now had no purpose to serve them? What was the point in continuing to act as if he still had an entire planet at his disposal when the truth was plainly scrawled across the walls, that his race had perished long ago at the hands of the terrible dictator lizard Frieza and now here he was, the Prince of a dead being, the Royal Highness of nothingness, the ruler of him and only himself.

"**I just hate being like this…being so angry…all the time…so cautious…so depressed…" **he confessed, allowing his lips to let the words mouth themselves out, burying his head in between his own knees so that his voice came out slightly muffled but Bulma heard him anyhow. **"This title I was bestowed…Saiyan Prince…it's wasted…they're dead…I have to accept that but…I just…can't"** he ended of furiously, resurfacing once again, face flushed from the heat he had trapped himself in for that while, clenching his fists and bringing them down forcefully, bashing into the earth so slight tremors occurred beneath the both of them so that Bulma instinctively grabbed a hold of him for safety, to avoid falling over on her backside. Realizing he was causing a minor earthquake Vegeta brought about some control so that the repetitive shaking ceased instantly but his own feelings remained shaking until Bulma spoke up, looking up at him with an unreadable expression and Vegeta had every urge to kiss her, right there and then and not have second thoughts on the fact but something held him back inside as she spoke.

"**Vegeta…you…being a Saiyan Prince…it's not a waste…anything but! The Saiyans are not dead…not just yet! As long as you and Goku are still** **alive Saiyans still exist! And even if Goku doesn't count as a Saiyan because of his lack of memory on his heritage, you still do have that memory…the memory that serves as existence, proof that Saiyans are still alive. Never think that you being the Saiyan Prince means nothing!" **she assured him, hugging onto him tighter, closing her eyes lovingly. **"As for you feeling angry …cautious…depressed…it's because you disconnect yourself…no living thing can live a life isolated from others…I may be a human and you may be a Saiyan but that doesn't mean** **you have no right to express your feelings to me and that doesn't mean I have no right to express my feelings to you…I understand that you don't want to reveal your true emotions to everybody…your Saiyan blood and ethics keep you from appearing to…humane…but that merely means you are accustomed to the ways of the Saiyan race which is only correct considering you are their most esteemed Prince but that doesn't mean you can't have just one person, one living soul and being, to vent** **through…one singular person who you can share whatever you want with…whose opinion you value, whose decision you respect and who doesn't drive shame into your heart when you confess…that's all you need and you won't be so angry anymore…you won't be so cautious…you will never be depressed…" **

His head was bent down so close to hers now he felt the need to resist begin erasing itself as he brought that hand back up to her face, cupping it and bringing her closer, knowing that no matter what he thought about it afterwards, she was right and she was his person, his vent, his consoler and with her final words ringing in his head he had now subjected to utter weakness…and it was making him stronger…stronger than ever before…


	38. We All Scream For Ice Cream

Pride & Prejudice D

_**Pride & Prejudice **__**D.B.Z**_

_**Chapter Thirty Eight**_

_Bulma could feel her heart furiously reverberate menacingly within her, a thousand uncounted beats a millisecond, banging her chest painfully, rising to a full height up her tightened throat, gasping for much needed air that wasn't coming to her as Vegeta's hand came around her neck, edging up to her face, holding her close, gazing down at her with something new and unseen reflected back in his black eyes that were magnetizing Bulma towards him with some invisible potential pull that seemed to go beyond all scientific comprehension, an occurrence the logical female scientist found utterly frustrating and at the same time romantically erotic. _

_It seemed all surroundings had simultaneously frozen, as if they were completely alone forever, that nothing else but the two of them existed and it really wasn't meant to be any other way, serene and timeless, an undisturbed aura pacing itself, engulfing the both of them as they sat together as close as ever upon the patch of designated dry grass, a soft carrying breeze blowing their hair around soothingly, giving them a purpose to provide so much warmth for each other, him opened up to hold her tight in his arms as she curled up in a scrunched yet comforted ball close up to him. _

_Basking in the hot sunshine glory of the sun setting moment, as the twilight moment came, Bulma couldn't resist, being the perfectionist she was, the urge to tilt her face sideways to admire him and bring her hand up and push back a strand of Vegeta's hair that had gone loose and fallen in between his eyes and tuck it tentatively behind his ear while his eyes widened at her strange yet perfectly welcomed gesture and she smiled back up at him, indicating all she needed to with that familiar facial expression. _

'**He's Vegeta. Even if he has become a better person he's still Vegeta and the Vegeta we all know doesn't appreciate falling in love, especially with someone of a different race. It would be too much of a nightmare for him…'**

_Had she really, once upon a time not to long ago considering it was barely a few hours ago, said that? The utmost unbelievable truth was that that had been her exact words to quote that very single day, earlier though it had been, about Vegeta, a grave miscalculation on her part considering what was happening between the two of them now, clearly not a pass on hatred as she assumed in the beginning it would turn out to be when she had stomped out of the car blindly, mumbling nonsensical thoughts to herself._

'**Vegeta doesn't love me…he loves no one…he is incapable of love…'**

_That statement had been another of hers not to long back, this one having been thoughtlessly cursed merely a few minutes back in her moment of malicious anger and rapture and she really had to stifle a bubbling giggle when she thought back to it, wondering how she could have possibly thought such a far off hypothesis. Yet, even with her own misgivings concerning her thoughts in the misunderstanding she felt that she was every bit as prejudiced as he was hypocritical in the situation. he had, after all, been the one to accuse love of being a _**'death trap of sentimental rubbish'**_, Bulma recited to herself playfully, finding it now quite comical as opposed to what she had felt of it on the first try. Bringing her groping arms around his neck to hang off she also reminded herself that he had also accused humans of having _**'the seemingly ridiculous habit of falling for emotional traumas'**_and had also pointed out rather nastily that _**'Such foolish relationships always seem to end in disaster…and yet people such as yourself continue to suggest how magnificent its attributes are, blinded to the colossal damage it actually causes upon its worthless victims-' **_and even though it had slowly and painfully broken her heart when he had yelled this at her she couldn't help but wonder what he would say if she repeated these words to him in perfect recitation since they had somehow forever recorded themselves in her mind, indicating the cruel irony of it all. _

_He was ever so close now and Bulma just wished he would penetrate her personal bubble, not as an intruder but as a visitor to her graciously open arms but something about him, despite the vast openness seemed slightly reluctant to sink any deeper than the two of them already had and this was tearing away at her with fiery clawed anticipation. _

"**Vegeta…are you scared?"**_ she whispered with more concern than necessary but this just caused him to smile as she pushed his head down from the back with her hand, fiddling with the spikes of his fiery hair, a very different unrecognizable smile she knew she could easily get used to and adjust, as compared to his regular smirk which she'd easily softened towards as well, though she was now at a tilting point where just about anything he did would suit to her acceptance._

"**No…are you?" **_he asked and the challenge dictated in his tone could not have been missed by even the slowest person so that Bulma was quicker than he expected on the uptake._

"**You wish"**_ was all she managed to utter, the closeness between the two of them was so unbearable yet meaningfully desirable, she didn't want to spoil it by speaking, knowing she wouldn't be able to say anything anymore even if she tried, breathing was apparently becoming a hasty task. _

'**Just a little closer'**_ her mind squeaked with happiness and she wished somehow that Vegeta could read her mind and yet was strangely glad he couldn't. _**'Just a bit more…'**_ it urged, the voice from the back of her head growing louder. _**'Nearly touching'**_ it screamed and Bulma couldn't manage to make it silence from the singing angels harmony it had begun to produce and for sometime she couldn't have cared less, was already to take the risk, the chance, the ultimate plunge and leap across to Vegeta and would probably have let herself forget everything, would have done it that second and allow no more doubts to arouse if she could just push him closer to her, bring him a tinier bit nearer…_

_A shrill tune had started playing loudly somewhere outside of her suddenly 'little' existence and she felt a cold burst of air as Vegeta suddenly withdrew from her, leaving her most desolate than ever._

"**What the hell is that racket?" **_he demanded in a murderous voice as he sat up with his hair furiously messed up from the wind, looking particularly put off and Bulma could easily compare, realizing as she herself rose that the perfect mood had been ruined and even the humorous tune of 'Pop Goes The Weasel' playing off in the air couldn't do much to brighten up her spirits. _

"**It's the ice cream truck coming round the corner"**_ she muttered of casually as she shook her hair free of grass strands, sitting up erect and stretching her legs awake and alive, not realizing that her companion was probably not used to random vehicles playing nursery rhymes shrilly to sell frozen dairy products and couldn't help laughing over it when she noticed Vegeta's look of utter horror and thought to herself what he had probably assumed of the sentence._

"**See"**_ she began after controlling her giggles and pointing at the truck that had come round and parked itself somewhere near the fencing, _**"the ice cream truck goes around from park to park at certain stops to sell ice cream to all the children around the area since the park is the best place for them. To alert all the kids they play some type of music that only the younger population would enjoy. Be thankful you haven't heard the 'It's A Small World' version just yet or you would probably have blown yourself up! At least 'Pop Goes the Weasel' has a decent beat!" **

_Vegeta was eying the white truck with venomous loathing and Bulma could only hope to wonder what was coming up next when the sound of many tiny voices speaking all at once began to rise above the ice cream truck's song and Bulma only just grabbed Vegeta hands and stood him up, taking him off to one side without explanation, suddenly finding herself pressed up against a bark surface, leaning against that tree that had been her aim from the beginning, that was how far the irony had risen._

"**You don't want to be sitting there when the children come…you haven't exactly tried to deny a mob of hungry children their rights to ice cream, have you? It would be like denying Goku… it could be the last thing you do, even if you are the big macho Saiyan Prince!"**_ she warned in a teasing voice as Vegeta glared over his shoulder at the approaching mass of stampeding children that had magically appeared out of no where at the sound of the ridiculous music that seemed to be getting to Vegeta who had begun to wince as the eleventh round began. _

"**Does that blasted thing shut up??" **_he demanded roughly as his hands clenched into fists within Bulma's own palms and she couldn't help but smile at his display of anger. _

"**Maybe you should have a cone?"**_ she suggested calmly, massaging one of his hands gently with her thumb so that suddenly all the tension seemed to leave him and he looked down at what she was doing with much alarm before speaking up._

"**A what??" **_he managed to mutter cluelessly, not knowing in the least what Bulma was talking about, he was too busy looking at their held together hands entwined within each other._

"**A cone Vegeta…an ice cream cone…you know…from the 'blasted thing' over there…"**

_The look of confusion and quizzical puzzlement actually made Bulma feel pity for the unacknowledged Vegeta who was finding it much to difficult to concentrate, more interested by their closeness and the soothing movement of Bulma fingers against the skin of his hands._

"**Oh for Kami's sake Vegeta!"**_ Bulma interrupted his blissful absence by snatching her hand away, much to Vegeta's hidden dismay, and burying it under her sweater and in one of her jean pockets, rummaging around for something before brandishing her black leather wallet with the silver emblazed letters 'C.C' printed in slanting calligraphy._

"**I'm going to go by us some ice cream so you just stay here"**_ she addressed him in a maternal tone as she opened her wallet and began flipping through the notes, feeling as if she were ordering about a mere four year old child, not an adultery Saiyan Prince who had the energy power and abilities to blow her away out of existence in a positively clean yet brutal manner within seconds as well as make her heart speed up tremendously when he got too close in distance. Like he was at that moment, literally pressing his body against hers so she felt like she was being swallowed in by the tree but somehow, the pressure that was pushing her back and the seemingly forceful feeling around her just made the position and moment so much more better and she hated to part from it. But the mothers and fathers of the oncoming children had sent her and Vegeta rather dirty warning looks, obviously demanding they not perform any stunts that would involve a bit too much closeness in front of their young even though both their 'thick' sweater were fully intact and she had seen the look in Vegeta's eyes when she'd pulled him towards her when they'd first headed for the tree, a look that had basically stated that at this point of closeness he was ready to do anything, anywhere, anytime and so the brief break might be the perfect alternative for him to calm down a bit and save whatever he had planned for later, when the youth of tomorrow weren't in their surrounding environment to disturb them._

_Giving him a light pat on his cheeks with her hand she slipped past him with much graceful ease and began strolling with bubbling excitement in each and every footstep towards the children's ice cream truck, though her joy could never be compared to that of a child's at that moment._

_The cue was easy to get through but she was nevertheless relieved when she got to the front, her parting from Vegeta making her go through some strange inexperienced feelings as if she couldn't stand being so far away from him which didn't quite make sense considering they'd only been arguing barely ten minutes ago. True, within those ten minutes fiery hatred had turned to burning love, a worldwide record Bulma was sure, but that didn't necessarily mean that she should feel empty loneliness by just leaving to get ice cream for the two of them, a feeling that she would never be whole again unless Vegeta held her in his strong well toned muscular arms like he had before…or was that what everybody meant when they said you will know when it happens…_

_Was this what love felt like? To want to never be away from that one special person that you want to be with for your entire life, that perfect soul that makes your heart beat unnaturally so that you can hear the echo of it's drumming merge with your lovers in an everlasting rhythmic beat that unites the two of you forever more? To feel that even though the entire world is against you, when you're in his strong protective arms nothing can harm you in anyway and you will always be unconditionally loved for endless time to come? Many people made her feel special, grateful, happy, all of them in a long infinite list…her parents, ChiChi, Goku and all the others from the days when they would all party in the Kame House with Krillin and Master Roshi, her trips up to Korin's tower where even Yajirobe provided some friendly consultation, seeing Puar and Oolong, visits from Tien and Chiatzu, Picolo to when he spoke more than two words to her…even, back before all the trauma and drama began, Yamcha would make her feel special…would, though was the key word…however, she had never felt particularly wanted at any point and that she knew was what had been missing this whole time till she had met Vegeta…she had felt loved but in a different way from now…now it was a love she just couldn't describe but it was the love she had been searching for this whole time…the feeling she was wanted by someone no matter what…she was wanted by Vegeta…and it made her feel, she couldn't use any other word for it, good…very good…_

'**Is this what it's supposed to be like?'**_ she thought to herself, eyes misted over as she attempted to read the ice cream flavors. _**'Is love supposed to feel…good…? Is Vegeta really my special person…the one I've always wanted? Does he really love me?"**

"**DUH!!" **_Bulma exclaimed like a hyped up teenager, slamming the notes of money down on the counter, giving the ice cream man behind it a heart attack while the woman behind him scooping strawberry flavor simply smiled over at her. _**"How could I be so STUPID??" **_Bulma carried on without realizing that the cue behind her had begun to disperse gradually, frightening away a few customers right off the park. _**"Honestly...how could I NOT HAVE known that he LOVED ME this whole time??"**

"**Margaret?"**_ the ice cream man called behind his shoulder with anticipation. _**"Margaret?? I think you can handle this one?"**_ he mumbled uncertainly while Bulma merely laughed over her own stupidity, the lady taking over the shift._

"**So?"**_ she asked in a friendly voice, _**"what will it be?"**

"**I really don't know"**_ Bulma mused thoughtfully. _**"I was so excited that he loved me that I didn't ask him which flavor he wanted…that was stupid of me…but then again, what else is new!!"**

"**Why not go with just vanilla? If he truly loves you I highly doubt he'll care"**_ Margaret suggested as if she found the situation perfectly normal which she did while the man at the back was ogling his eyes there way before turning around and going, _**"Ladies, there all the same!"**_ which went amiss by both the women._

"**Yeah, you're right!"**_ Bulma agreed ecstatically. _**"It's just…I really only JUST found out he loves me"**_ she carried on, counting out the notes while Margaret retrieved to wafer cones. _

"**New love"**_ she sung back as she began to scoop vanilla. _**"Cherish it…this one, by the look on your face, seems to be one for life…that'll be 1.50"**

"**I hope so…I can just tell he's the one for me" **_Bulma replied, counting out the notes she'd set before putting them back in the wallet and counting out coins. _**"He looks pretty…scary to be honest and no one would suspect he even feels emotion but…I know otherwise…here's two!"**

"**As long as you can feel that you're meant to be no one can say anything against it"**_ Margaret assured her, handing her the two tissue wrapped vanilla cones and taking the coins, popping them into the cash register on her left. _**"And by the looks of it…you can feel it"**

"**You're right!"**_ Bulma cried euphorically. _**"I can feel it within me, deep down and it feels …well…I can't explain…just good…"**

"**It isn't supposed to feel like anything else…"**_ Margaret explained rationally, as if stray wanderers always questioned her on the meaning and feelings of true love. _**"Good is the only true word for unconditional love because such love is indescribable…it can only be good…here's your change"**_ she added, handing over the fifty and Bulma slid it into her wallet before flashing Margaret her best smile._

"**Thanks…you're really good at this!" **_she complimented Margaret who merely shrugged and gestured towards the man behind him._

"**That's why he's got me…I do ALL the shifts on Valentine's Day"**_ she informed Bulma with a wink and Bulma could only laugh back, unable to express how much Margaret had acted like the perfect Cupid angel for her and began to nearly skip back, though being extra careful with the two vanilla cones in her hand, back to the tree…back to HER Saiyan Prince…_


	39. Beneath The Street Light

Pride & Prejudice D

_**Pride & Prejudice **__**D.B.Z**_

_**Chapter Thirty Nine**_

Vegeta leaned casually back against the rough cutting barky surface of the ancient tree trunk, hands buried deep within the comforts of his denim jean pockets as he bent his neck conditionally, allowing his head to hang while the peak of his hair flew about in the air ahead of him, a few strands straying over to obstruct his vision but he couldn't have cared less on the matter, his mind focusing on something else entirely.

He was busy obsessing over the terrible hopelessness that had seemed to occur from out of nowhere, growing inside him as if at long last he had lost all and everything there was and that nothing held specific meaning anymore, nothing was of purpose or reason to him and he would forever fall into the depths of a desolate never ending black hole…without her…without Bulma…without her…

Without her he felt he had absolutely no reason for living and he might as well be alone and solitary in the world, even within the universe, no one could make him feel the way Bulma did, no one could dare to take her position and replace her even a million years from the point of this day.

She had just left him and though it was for a short period of time for a minor reason he felt somehow abandoned, as if deserted, when he had felt that last soft touch on his cheek and then she had whipped past him, sliding away from his desperate grip, strolling off, further and further till he felt he had lost her, he couldn't seem to adjust to not having her right there with him as close as possible, any form of separation was like a clawing fanged monster tearing him up from the inside bit by bit till he felt he would remain as nothingness.

He felt oddly handicapped at not having her to hold on to, not having her presence to calm his senses, not having her figure to wrap his arms around and hold her close so he could hear her heart speed up at his touch and not being able to run his fingers with endless freedom through the light delicate strands of blue that ran down her back, feeling her hands play about with his fingers like it was all some sort of game in which she was winning considerably, the way she smiled up at him looking more beautiful than he could describe, more stunning than he could relay with those eyes of perfection…

'**What is happening to me?'** he thought to himself but for once he just couldn't seem to find any regret in the situation, no matter how hard he tried to force himself to feel guilty about his feelings he just couldn't do it, was at an inability to find fault in his actions.

'**I…I can't believe…I am a Saiyan Prince…but…I just can't…I love her…'**

It was such an awe striking enigma for him that he eventually, for the first time ever, gave up on trying to solve it, agreeing that for once he would just appreciate going along with the peaceful flow of life's tide which was briskly taking him away on love's journey…no matter how hard he tried to swim out of current he was trapped and there was no use struggling…

Gazing up lazily, feeling perfectly befuddled he felt all doubts evaporate around him when he saw walking back up to him, shining in all her unknown glory and dazzle, clutching two unfamiliar objects, returned Bulma.

"**I got our cones Vegeta!"** she called aloud, waving as she indicated what she held, clad in that grey wool turtleneck she had barely ironed, the ends of her white frilled lace t-shirt from inside sticking out over her rumpled denim jeans with old pulled on white lace up sneakers, her blue hair tasseled about wildly with the breeze that had ceased to finalize it's billow.

To him she was picture perfect as always, absolutely spotless, flawless luxury even as he felt himself tingle at her approach and finally she was standing straight ahead of him, directly in front, smiling up while handing the so called 'ice cream cone' his way expectantly, obviously intending he take it from her.

"**What is that?"** he asked with exasperation but she only rolled her eyes and forced it his way so he had to release his hands and grab hold of it, allowing Bulma to pay attention to her own ice cream before it melted which she was bringing closer to her mouth.

"**It's vanilla by the way"** she pointed out before extending her tongue and tentatively licking it and shivering at it's chill while Vegeta observed her with half disgust, half curiosity.

"**That helps"** he pointed out sarcastically, glaring down at his own cone as if it was lethal until Bulma couldn't take it any more, the tension was apparently too much for her patience.

"**For Kami's sake Vegeta, it's not poisoned!"** she blew out in frozen breaths. **"After everything you'd think I'd be plotting to kill you"**

"**You might"** he contradicted, loving the idea of fiddling about with her mind a bit to relax himself and leaned forward so that there faces where barely distanced, **"Who knows what unspeakables you're capable of…"**

"**Quite a few"** she retorted but with humor in her voice, leaning in closer to distract him a bit as she went on. **"I already have you cringing…" **

"**So I should be afraid…?"** he questioned with remarkable contrast in his voice, confusing Bulma while she struggled for a reasonable answer to this.

"**Of an ice cream cone…?"** she commented out loud with a smile, **"No! That would be just too silly…you're supposed to lick it…"**

His eyebrows furrowed at her final comment, unable to understand what it meant when Bulma brought her cone back up to her mouth and licked one side again as she broke into a slow paced walk past him, Vegeta strolling alongside her willingly, showing him how she was managing to extract the sweet natural flavor without actually using utensils or her hands and then he understood what she meant and attempted to repeat it, finding the ice cream quite acceptable to his liking when he did so and couldn't understand for the life of him why Bulma had just stared laughing over at him when he had.

"**What? I did it exactly like you showed me!"** he moaned, stopping dead in his tracks at the fencing where they had gotten to, just near the borders of the exit which they would have passed if Bulma hadn't begun having a giggle fit. **"Why the hell are you laughing?"** he complained in a louder voice as Bulma began to unwrap the tissue round her cone, trying to contain the laughter that was bellowing inside her before bringing it up to Vegeta's face and pinching his nose in it while he struggled backwards, wondering what she was doing to him.

"**What is wrong with you?"** he demanded furiously once she had withdrawn herself and he was able to successfully breath again while she discarded the tissue in a near by trash receptacle.

"**It's not my fault you had ice cream on your nose Vegeta"** she struck back before resuming to her ice cream and Vegeta, slightly put off and disgruntled put so much force into his one lick of the vanilla cone that as soon as it came within contact of his tongue the ice cream scoop toppled over the edge and landed with a satisfying squelch on the grass, inflaming Vegeta so much that he crushed the remainders of the wafer cone to thick floating powder that blew away like dust, unintentionally causing the demise and destruction of his single ice cream cone while Bulma gaped over at him.

"**That was very nice"** she shot over at him to which he merely shrugged with apology, looking particularly disappointed in loosing his cone so that Bulma felt pity on him loosing out on the experience of 'one's first ice cream cone'.

"**Don't pout"** she chided gently and handed him her cone with open hands. **"Have mine…I can't finish it anyway!" **and before he could hope to protest she had his own fingers clasped around the dessert and had no idea that within one minute only half of it would be devoured before it met a similar fate as it's preceded cone.

"**Honestly Vegeta! How on earth did you manage to waste away two cones??"** she questioned with irritancy before carrying on while hugging herself, leaving Vegeta slightly dazed before he chased after her, aligning himself with her striding figure and turning backwards so that he could walk and be face to face with her to make his point clear, simultaneously.

"**It's not my fault Bulma if the ice cream cones are so fragile** he defended himself but with a soft heartened voice, feeling the familiar smirk on his face as he waited for her to retaliate and felt perplexed when she didn't speak up straight away.

They had come to an ironically unsuspected halt directly under a metal street light that was strangely switched off despite the night that had fallen so that they were surrounded by a comforting gray, unlike the dingy surroundings normally possessing that color, the open darkening sky above them where a few stars were slightly visible, twinkling above like heavens diamonds with a few soft comforting clouds.

"**You…"** she stuttered suddenly, catching Vegeta's attention with captivation, **"You…just called me Bulma…"**

"**And I can completely understand how that would be a problem considering that being your name?"** he added with sarcastic frustration, giving her an awkward expression but she only gazed up at him, wide eyed with wonderment as she subconsciously wound one arm around the freezing cold street light pole to lean for support, edging herself closer to him and nothing could have pulled him away at that moment but rather made him inch forward when she brought her other arm up and placed a soft hand on his chest.

"**You…never…call me Bulma…"** she murmured gently, circling her finger round and round, entwining a bit of his sweater around as she fiddled with it, using this as an attachment to pull him towards her so that he was being pressed up against her, his own arms coming around her waist, encircling her within his grip as she loosened his sweater and released her pull.

"**Well…"** Vegeta began with some difficulty, his voice hoarse in his dry throat. **"I'm calling you Bulma now…and you can't stop me…it's too late…"**

The last three words seemed to have an unexplainable affect on Bulma, her eyes seemed to blur as if she was going to cry and she seemed to loosen within his embrace, weaken in his arms as if her legs had given way and buckled and he couldn't understand why or how this was possible but thought it best not to ask, loving the simple silence that held the both of them.

'**Do it now!'** a voice behind him urged within his conscience and he wasn't sure why he wasn't listening. **'Do it now before something else comes and interrupts you!'** It was yelling at him constantly as Bulma grew ever too close, an inch away from his own face, bringing one hand on his cheek, allowing the other one to abandon the pole and curl around his neck, pushing his head down from the back and he felt uneasily drowsy.

'**Do it…just do it…do it now!'**

He could feel her warm breath like a light shower spray across his face as she tilted her head slightly opposite to his, see every single individual curved eyelash on her lids as they slowly began to fall over her eyes, could feel the desperation and tension her body was giving off but more importantly he could feel the urge within in himself and he couldn't help it anymore.

'**Just go ahead! Just go ahead!'**

Her lips were barely touching his but he could feel them, soft on his own, sending a tingling sensation through him as his own eyes began to close, unable to take the load and just wanting to fall in submission and his own mouth began to open against hers.

'**You know you want it…nothing will stop you…'**

He could sense her feelings through her body; the very close of her mouth on his told him all he needed to know as she forced his head down much too far and began to kiss him more forcefully than he could have ever imagined as he finally allowed his eyes to fall to a close.

'**Do something! Do something!'**

The voice refused to leave him even as he allowed Bulma to tassel with him, play along with her strong unbreakable kisses that kept him there, his conscience telling him to retaliate with equivalent expression of emotional being but he was too caught up by her force, her enigma, her aura as she moved somewhat inside of him, kissing him with utmost feeling.

'**Do something! DO SOMETHING!'**

Her tongue had now begun attacking, seeking entrance as they trailed across his lips effortlessly, seducing him into letting go and opening up, which he did and could not regret it, she had suddenly become so passionately violent with him, with their lips upon each other, with his body as her arms went insanely groping around his back and neck.

"**DO SOMETHING!!"**

Something frozen and moist fell to his forehead but she wouldn't let him withdraw when he tried, brought both her hands to his face gently and kept him at her glorious erotic mercy, kissing him over and over even as the icy feeling grew but he couldn't part, couldn't even open his own eyes to see, he already knew what is it was from the clear indication of the clouds he had seen earlier and the thrashing droplets that had escaped into his sweater and were trailing down his back, freezing his spine.

"**DON'T LEAVE IT ALL TO HER!! DO SOMETHING!!"**

It was chilling to the bone, the bursting shower of rain that had begun simply out of no where but even with it's mighty force it did absolutely nothing to part them but in fact drew them even closer, if it were possible, and kept them more eagerly pushed into one another for the warmth as Bulma further penetrated his mouth, enjoying the delicate scent he was emitting, the alluring taste he was giving off, leaving him in much distress.

"**DO SOMETHING!! YOU CAN DO SO MUCH BETTER!! YOU WANT HER! NOW MAKE HER WANT YOU EVEN MORE!! DO SOMETHING"**

"**Okay"** he whispered back much too lightly so that momentarily Bulma seemed to hesitate, not withdrawing her lips nor the forceful iron clad grip around him with her arms, keeping him locked, but leaving them at a pause.

"**What did you say?"** she whispered ever so softly against his lips as he brought his hands, trailing up her arms hesitantly and then forgetting that it should matter, bringing them to her shoulders, sliding a finger down her cheek, enjoying the smooth skin at his touch before returning the favor and equally getting a firm hold of her.

"**I said…okay"** he repeated in a low whispery voice and before Bulma could think over this Vegeta begun to show her not to get into a false sense of security, began to teach her not to think that she was in charge, when the fact was, he was the one in control…


	40. My Little Runaway

Pride & Prejudice D

_**Pride & Prejudice **__**D.B.Z**_

_**Chapter Forty**_

_Bulma let out a ferocious gust of forceful air from yet another pushed up sneeze for she was at long last, contaminated with the common cold and with a tired sigh she reached out for another rose tinted tissue from the cardboard box that sat in front of her on the glass coffee table, there wasn't much of a selection at the convenience store. Twenty four hours straight she had been sitting cross legged in her kid teddy bear pajamas, a cozy old fuzzy blanket which smelt very familiar wrapped for comfort and warmth around her shoulders, her hair tangled, frazzled and knotted up in a quick bun with a grey scrunchie, thermometer donned in the mouth rising to a harsh burning and thoroughly heated fever with over a dozen capsules, bottles and syrups of several medications she had managed to find, according to the aid of her fathers pharmacist advice care book, scattering the table in front of her, prescriptions littered amongst them. _

_Leaning back in the sofa she sighed some more in self pity, flicking the television channels for something fascinating to watch while gripping her steaming mug of hot chocolate tighter, hoping to take a throat warming gulp after checking her temperature for hopeful signs of falling from the 101 it had precariously wavered upon. _

_The clock struck eleven into the night and Bulma could only feel her heart swell up desperately and then fall to the pit of her stomach with a depressing plummet, pulling the thermometer out of her mouth and attempting to appreciate the 100 the red mercury was signifying. Tossing the light glass thermometer across to the other side of the sofa gently she sniffled her red nose a bit and began rapidly channel surfing as she hugged on to her furry cotton plush chocolate brown teddy bear which she had snuck out from the garage where it had been buried under some old clothes in a damp cardboard box, in need of a serious rescue mission. Ignoring the clocks chimes she muttered something nonsensical to herself before taking a tentative sip from her mug, allowing it to sweep away her clogged senses and at least make her feel slightly better considering she was feeling completely abandoned and deserted at the current moment._

_She kept telling herself it was because she was alone in the Capsule Corporation building complex and with its vast and gigantic construction one would naturally find it disturbing being the only soul in it's features, considering her parents were still at that forever lasting meeting or convention or whatever it had been, she hardly remembered or even cared, and had no intentions of returning anytime before the night of the big wedding of ChiChi and Goku, the biggest occasion to happen in long time to look forward to. With Dr.Briefs had also gone all the operatives of Capsule Corporation and so nobody was manning the scientific establishment and that denied any frequent or non frequent visitors. But Bulma knew deep down that none of those absences meant anything to her, having been subjected to them many numerous times and that the main reason for her feeling of isolation and complete solitude was that the one and only person she had counted on for at least some emotional and moral support had managed to sneak out and disappear into the night late yesterday, around eleven, exactly an entire day's span from now in which she had developed the perfect sore throat and runny nose, just to add to her fabulous sense of good luck._

"**I am going to kill Vegeta" **_Bulma whispered in a perfectly even yet deathly sinister voice into the lonely emptiness of the room, her grip on her mug becoming a murderous squeezing, as if she were trying to crack it away into pieces with all the fury harbored within her being. Tapping the button vigorously she finally stopped to watch the classic cliché of an old black and white alien invasion movie and couldn't help but laugh a little at the sarcastic irony as well as the terrible graphic compostion and props._

"**As if I haven't had enough aliens in my life!"**_ she giggled apprehensively, ignoring the television screen completely as she sank even deeper into the sofa, choking her teddy bear in her hold while flicking at the red plastic button nose a bit, wondering at it's existence and all the times it had managed to pull through for her. She had after all sown that button on herself when the actual nose had been ripped apart during a difficult moving process back when she was ten and they were transferring yet again to another location for her father's work and she approved much more of the new attachment since it made the teddy bear seem more cuter. The dark red line of cross stitches across the bears light honey colored stomach were also by her repairing technique, bringing about the story of when her mother had accidentally mixed the bear up with some dirty laundry by some miracle and the bears tummy had been ripped open violently, removing nearly all the artificial polyester filling so that Bulma herself had cut up many of her clothes and invaded her mothers cotton wool supply to make him chubby and fat all over again before closing the hole up in a quick operation. Another noticeable injury to her childhood memorabilia was the rusting silver zipper and line joining the shoulder and arm together in a fuse from back when the teddy's arm had been cruelly jammed in between a cupboard door and without knowing this fact she had pulled on the teddy and soon enough found the body and arms separated. Not knowing how else to repair it since stitches weren't holding she had cleverly thought of the spare zipper on her old sweat jacket and having carefully prying it off with a stitch ripper and a pair of scissors she had sown that on with careful and accurate adjustment. Now, about fifteen to twenty years later from the disasters the bear had faced here were the two of them, in yet another familiar situation where the two would bond, both, though grown, one old and weary, the other still young but more mature, still close friends for life. _

_Hugging on tighter than Bulma ever imagined she should need to she began to allow one single effortless tear to trail down her cheek and hit the glassy, slightly hanging off, blue iris glazed eye of the bear but Bulma hardly noticed, she was too busy wiping her own moisture dotted cheeks harshly. _

"**I'm so sorry Coco"**_ she whimpered with an ebbing sob vibrantly ringing in her voice as she dabbed at her eyes with her fingers vigorously. _**"I never treated you like I should have…I should have treated you better than this…better than all these rips and tears and loose strings…it's just…I've always just been a bit ashamed of you…ashamed of loving you…because…who loves a stuffed toy anymore…"**

_She was trying to reassure herself, trying to use the concept of loving her teddy bear as a metaphor to how she suddenly felt she was being treated and it hit her most indefinitely how wrong it all was._

"**But it shouldn't matter!" **_she exclaimed out of no where, her voice more soulful and alive. _**"So what if I love you! So what! I know it's odd…immature…out of the ordinary…but who cares!! I love you! And that's all that matters! If you love****something you shouldn't be ashamed of showing it! You shouldn't! Right?"**

_It was coming out in a hysterical lack of control out pour that she couldn't hold back until her laughter became a bit too heavy, morphing into a lung choking cough which called for one of the many detestable syrups that were laid out before her and clutching one hand around her throat she grabbed the bottle of the nearest one by the neck and downed an unreasonable amount down to sooth her chest and throat pains._

"**Oh Kami!!"**_ she mumbled after regaining her breath and placing the bottle back where she'd found it before nearly drowning herself down in the squishy sofa, massaging the back of her neck uneasily, goose bumps had appeared all along her nape. _**"I am going to KILL Vegeta!"**

_She waited a moment to see what effect this would have on her and sure enough, in less than five minutes she was crying and shrieking at the same time, throwing a maddening fit on the sofa, bashing the cushion with her fists, taking all her anger out on it as each of her closed palms sunk over and over into the refluxing surface so that she couldn't even inflict any pain the way she wanted to. _

"**What-kind-of-guy-does-THAT??"**_ she panted crazily, sweat dripping from her forehead and without much self protesting she popped the thermometer back in her mouth and with a single groan waited with exceeded over used patience until she was sure her exact temperature would be accurately measured._

"**101 AGAIN?? WHAT IS THIS??"**_ she yelled out loud, sending the thermometer flying across the room to the sofa chair, not really caring how past the decibel she had carried herself considering the fact with utmost annoyance that she was after all, completely and sincerely alone in the place so she wasn't even technically disturbing anybody. _

"**This is ALL Vegeta's fault!! I swear on my head it is!!"**_ Bulma confirmed with absolutely no defiance, sure of herself that she wouldn't be in such a fussy state if it weren't for the Saiyan Prince and his 'seductive' methods, Bulma had put it tactfully. _

"**I mean…he's totally going on and on and ON at my throat over how stupid and…STUPID…love is and then what?? Ten minutes later he's totally making out with…ME!!"**_ she fumed, tears of lust and animosity now burning at her lids as she thought of how alone she was, how he had just left her the way he did._

_She remembered so very clearly all the events of the night before, the whole conflict that had eventually led her and Vegeta with quite a difference in their aspect of the relationship between them, strolling together without much thought down the street, back to her hastily abandoned hover car. She had playfully decided to swing just for fun around an unlit street light, probably with a broken bulb, her hand slipping down the metal surface but always stopping with friction at the right moment so that she didn't fall like a clumsy klutz, she'd hate to resort to such measures to ever get Vegeta's attention, she possessed that much dignity at least. Each spinning twirl left her dizzier and yet euphorically bubbly and so she kept swishing along the pole, turn after turn, only aware of the colorless background surrounding the area, the tall blue and black blur she could just barely distinguish from the rest of the scene._

_And then, out of no where she had heard it, piercing her heart in so that she couldn't breath, but in a faintly weak kneed good way so that she could just about hear the angels singing above, when he had actually said it to her, face to face, not hesitations, no flustering, no stuttering and perfectly smooth…he'd said her name…_

_The way he said…he said it perfectly…he said it like the simple name it was but he said so much more when he did, bringing her to a stop where they stood together while she tried to understand exactly what was happening and if it really was real. _

_It all had been rather sudden then, one moment standing just slightly apart and the next half a second…well…it had been a rather strange night…a lot of expression and honesty…especially when it had started raining heavily upon them in forceful showers, batting them painfully yet making the entire experience so much more erotically enjoyable…_

_He hadn't spoken a word to her afterwards when they had pulled apart, drenched ice cold to the bone, wet and soaking through and unfortunate it was that the drive back to the Capsule Corporation was one with utter and undisturbed silence and then, when she had just gone upstairs to change into a dry pair of clothes, leaving Vegeta standing somewhat dazed and disturbed in the middle of the hallway, she had sneezed, the first of many to come, and after a few dozen she decided to check on her housemate to see if he had suffered the same fate and upon entering his bedroom saw the bed slightly sprawled in the middle with sheet wrinkles and the window wide upon, the curtains fluttering in billows with the force of the tempest wind, the rain outside now a thrashing down pour…and no Vegeta to be seen…clearly giving her all the proof she needed to know…he had left…_

"**I am going to kill Vegeta"**_ Bulma repeated the sadistic sentence once again, her tongue curled around the words, the phrase was effortlessly hanging from her lips, said over and over without thought since her feelings were in the lead now, going psychotically manic within her aching mind as she wondered where her Saiyan Prince could possibly be and why he would be so desperate to just abandon her, though she knew that she shouldn't dwell on such complications, he would simply answer them himself when he came back._

"**Because I'm sure he's coming back…he's left all his stuff here…and his beloved gravity room is also here…there's absolutely no way he can come back and avoid me…"**

_The nasty sneer had played itself across Bulma's face, clearly sinister with not a hint of the regular compassion she had held not moments ago as she dreamed away of the hell she was going to drill into her blissfully oblivious runaway when he returned, whenever he did plan to from the lightening storm occurring outside at a pinnacle of extreme danger, though she sincerely hoped that this time she would actually be able to resist him in all his physical and emotional glory, at least for the first five minutes…_


	41. Hell Hath No Fury

_**Pride & Prejudice **__**D.B.Z**_

_**Chapter Forty One**_

Vegeta held his breath steadily down as his mind began to fog up with lack of oxygen but he couldn't risk breathing aloud, holding it in painfully as he desperately attempted to make sure Bulma remained completely unaware of his return back to the Capsule Corporation, sure of the fact that she wasn't going to be exactly pleased to see him after the way he had abruptly taken off without a moments notice. Descending ever so lightly on the floor of his room he tip toed hesitantly back to window to close off the shutters, each footstep on the floor boards an infinitely shrieking creak with emission squeaks.

Stuffing the flapping curtains to one side as silently as possible he brought the shutters in and only allowed them the privilege of a signal click before doing up the metal latch quietly, shifty and looking over his shoulder ever few seconds in case his 'hostess' happened to appear, armed with an object of some sorts, no doubt about it.

'**Now what?'** he thought, irritated and seemingly cautious, as if his very thoughts could be heard like the yells they seemed within his head. **'I came back all this way for what?'**

Boredom and realization consumed him all at once as he realized that he would have clearly been better off in solitary confinement back in the snowy isolated mountains where he had aimlessly been wandering for an entire hours on end, trying to get his thoughts straight. Amongst the coniferous pines and amidst the rocky caverns, at the banks of the gushing bubbling streams, lying down on the frost dotted fresh grass of the morning, allowing the dandelions to explode around him in a shower of dust flakes as he fell down amongst them, slowly and gradually floating down to land upon him as he kept his eye lids firmly closed over, undisturbed by the mere tickling sensation, rather enjoying it as he remained motionless, many different ideas, memories, realizations, moments, solutions swimming out of control in the boundaries of his mind which stayed wild and awake over the passing days, without need of rest or sleep, he preferred to remain quite conscious and yet lost in his mind.

But when it came down to it, he had not flown over to the mountains to seek refuge for a thought session to grasp hold of any psychological aspect, as he wished he had. The plain and simple truth was, he had been a coward and when things had suddenly toppled out of balance and drove him insane with complications he had given in and done the most shameful thing; he had runaway.

Runaway without claim to any reason but simply because the burden had grown too heavy and he couldn't take the pressure and so he had tried to escape, by running away, not even provoked as Goku had been by himself when things had been much more difficult and confusing.

'**As if they aren't now!'** he half joked to himself bitterly, disbelieving at the cruel irony, on how life had twisted itself so that now he was in Goku's position, accept he had no one but himself telling him what to do so that it was all up to how he deciphered the situation and as it was going, for the first time in his life, he wished someone else was drawing the cards, leading the direction, pointing the way.

Turning to the bed that had remained untouched since he had left, blinded in a blurred mix of emotional trauma and plain annoyance, he rejected all thought when suddenly over come by uncontrollable fatigue and in a fraction of a second, without consideration, collapsed upon the bed, stomach down on the soft heavenly mattress, only barely wincing as he realized what he had done when a long low groan emitted due to the added irregular Saiyan weight.

"**Vegeta?" **

The questioning yet expectant cry was unmistakably of the first and last person he wanted to see at that controversial moment as he tried to stop himself from wallowing over the distress he was about to cause himself due to his carelessness.

In a time period of less than three seconds there was a thumping, banging, even a slight bit of thrashing involved in the atmosphere as he lay there, awaiting his doom and not even a flinch occurred when he heard the heavy pounding footsteps coming from whatever direction they were and in the time it took for him to dully blink one singular time the door had burst open forcefully and crashed into the wall and there stood the silhouette of a tremendously furious and vexed Bulma, positively foaming at the mouth, hands balled into curled fists of fury ready to pummel Vegeta who could only allow his eyes to widen beyond the whites at the sight of her, too exhausted to actually get up, just thankful that the weapon of choice happened to be absent. Not that it would actually cause any evaluation of pain but then again, this wasn't just some crazy mechanic android or even the great giant lizard tyrant but a deathly violent and clearly furious woman, the deadliest of her kind.

"**HOW-COULD-YOU???"**

The accusing ranting had already begun uproariously as Bulma advanced forward in a somewhat threatening bolted stride and Vegeta gradually began to lift his exhausted and mysteriously weakened body up in a half sleepy motion, letting his tired, falling to a half close eyes sink bemused into her wide flaming clearly inflamed and infuriated blue ones.

"**HOW COULD YOU JUST…LEAVE?!?!" **she continued in a highly spirited screaming round but Vegeta found himself more captivated in the wild concern with how she looked all over at that moment rather than what words of hatred and vile raw burning anger were coming out of her mouth.

Her hair was sharply tied up, she was in reasonable clothing, cleansed as if she was sparkling somehow around the outline of her features so she hadn't completely shut herself off from his absence and he was secretly glad of this fact, not exactly wanting her to live lifelessly if he ever did go permanently, though after this incident he bet himself fairly well that Bulma probably wouldn't let him pose a foot out of the boundaries of his room.

Yet, he noticed with a perplexed feel about his instincts, though she had made herself appear as close to complex as she could have gotten the dark hanging bags under her eyes, the dryness of her rapidly moving lips and the dead skin peeling slightly off her hands gave her away in an instant and this tended to make him feel slightly put off for absolutely no apparent reason but the bare fact that his not being there had disabled her in a minute way, even if not over all, but it disturbed him that she would feel even a slightly bit unsettled so that he couldn't help but let the attempted to muffle down groan seep out in a sinking oppression.

"**WHAT-ARE YOU MOANING ABOUT?!?!?"** she demanded ferociously, the malice drowning her words as she looked down at him from up where she stood and Vegeta's pride would simply not permit him to look up at her from his sitting his position, it would feel much to inferior of him.

"**As if I haven't stooped that low already…look at me…being disciplined by an earthling female…"** he bitterly pointed out to himself but just couldn't bring himself to bad mouth her in his head, even though, back in the beginning, all the possible atrocities would have escaped his lips and managed to direct themselves at her, without consideration of whether they were cruelly stabbing her or not. Now, he was at the mercy of the blue haired feminine beauty screaming down upon him, not daring to inflict even the smallest of emotional wounds, never mind the fact that physical was just out of the question at the moment, and even thinking of something that might possibly hurt was unbelievingly difficult and he didn't know exactly how to explain it to himself but it hurt deeply, from somewhere inside, where he just couldn't pin point it but as it fell in the category of his instincts he followed them like the true warrior her was.

"**ARE YOU EVEN LISTENING TO ME!?!?!?!"** Bulma shrieked and to emphasize how unsure she was that he hadn't just dozed of sitting up from boredom of the same old lectures she delivered she got down on her hands and knees before him and tilted her face up to gaze at his downwards pointed one, not at all surprised by the stoic, expressionless depiction that was there, hallow eyes not daring to make contact with hers, betrayal would be in her favor of victory if they did and she knew very well that he couldn't bare to lose to her in such a way.

"**Are you listening?"** she perked up at him in a softer more gently sung voice, bringing her arms crossed onto his knees without so much as a blink of her thick lidded eyes, balancing her chin gracefully on her finger entwined hands, managing to lean down on him, completely ignoring the fact that she had just dared to casually intervene his personal space, or lack there off it seemed and as the surprise became more apparent in his eyes he somehow didn't have the heart to shove her off, she seemed much too innocent, despite the fact that she'd just been shrilly giving him hell in vocals, now gazing up at him with a mix of respect, admiration, happiness, sympathy, all those many emotions he himself found difficult to interpret, ones he had never fully and truly accepted or even experienced before, until now.

Rolling his eyes in what he hoped was a sarcastic manner he managed to slide down the sides of the bed covers without completely dismantling her position in a way that didn't cause him to fuss about too much so that soon enough he was quite comfortably, to his unfathomable disbelief, sitting on the carpeted floor, leaning his back against the bed in the most laid back way, Bulma still resting her arms and her head on his knees just as she had been before, the only difference being that they were now officially on the same level, neither being above or beneath the other, eyes fixated on him in the most puzzling way, staring into his own for who knows how long until at long last he found the entire silence a bit too unsettling for him to take, his heart beat was already exceeding the normal limit needed for survival.

"**I'm listening"** he answered unwillingly, knowing somehow that that was all she needed to hear to interrupt the quiet and resume speaking to him again, in a more calm and relaxed tone, so that they could maybe pick up from when he had just recklessly left her, regardless of the fact that maybe she might not be ready to just presumably "continue" as he was so blissfully putting it.

"**Good…"** she mouthed, the words barely producing sound from her shape forming lips as she bent in closer, a bit to close for Vegeta to understand where this was going and whether he should be worried or not, leaning in closer so that the air around him seemed suffocating, the space claustrophobic, so close he was sure this might be going somewhere preferable to his current needs and desires, so close it seemed like a wave of deja-vu had just swept over him, a feeling that this had happened before, so close he just sank back to let her get into that false sense of security again before leaping in on her viciously, proving to her how fragile and weak he could make her seem, so close…so close…

"**HOW COULD YOU LEAVE ME LIKE THAT YOU MORONIC BASTARD?????? HOW COULD YOU JUST DO THAT?????? HOW??? ANSWER MOST DENSE HEADED PRINCE OF ALL SAIYANS, HOW????"**

Vegeta winced terribly as he felt his ear drum shatter in to a million tiny sharp edged pieces completely and realized that she had tricked him. He, who been cleverly strategizing exactly how to lure her in, estimating exactly how to make her feel, calculating exactly how to seduce her into simply falling for him without any second thoughts, had been caught out and completely shamed because it seemed, that at the same time he had been plotting she had cleverly seen through his ways.

"**Yeah…that was REAL SMOOTH!!! Honestly VEGETA!!! YOU THINK YOU CAN JUST FILTER ALL YOUR FREAKED OUT FEELINGS INTO ME AND THEN DUMP ME WHENEVER YOU WANT SO THAT WHEN YOU COME CRAWLING BACK FOR ATTENTION I'LL JUST BE ALL OPEN ARMS!!! HOW PATHETIC DO YOU THINK I AM???"**

She was literally on top of him now but the signs of devotion and blatant innocence were no longer beheld in the fiery eyes he was being forced to glare back into.

"**REALLY!!!"** she continued, pressing down on him, not with a feeling of infatuation but with threatening force, while he wondered over what her real true motives were exactly. **"ALL MEN HAVE GOT TO BE THE SAME INCONSIDERATE ASSHOLES!!! I SWEAR** **VEGETA!!! YOU TOP THEM ALL!!!"**

Her words, though cutting, did not completely shamble the Saiyan Prince out of his conduct and he managed to keep his cool as she continued to abuse him verbally while pushing him down into the carpet, even managed to feed some of the fire growing inside of him, the confusing and oppression he was feeling suddenly transforming into his own anger at being treated this way.

"**I THOUGHT YOU WOULD CARE JUST A LITTLE!!! DO YOU KNOW WHAT IT WAS LIKE FOR ME TO JUST BE LEFT ALONE SO SUDDENLY??? TO HAVE YOU JUST DISAPPEAR, LEAVING ME ALL UPSET AND SELF-CONSCIENCE AND JUST PLAIN ALONE???? IT'S ABOUT THE MOST PATHETIC AND WEAK FEELING ANYONE CAN EVER FEEL JUST BEING ALONE AND WORRIED!!!"**

He had managed to regain proper hearing from where he lay on the floor and his mind resumed back after careful adjusting, now that the sweeping sensation of lust had left, pure undefined fury was brewing up inside him at being slashed in the way she was slashing him.

"**DO YOU EVEN KNOW HOW WORRIED I WAS???"** Bulma screamed unconditionally and the supposedly not so concerned anymore Vegeta was suddenly shot back to listening to her because those few randomly shot out words had suddenly grasped all his undivided attention, the concept that she had possibly been 'worried' about him at all was too unbelievable to digest without proof and besides, here was the chance to further trap her in the cage she herself had caused to fall upon their discussion, continue this tassel they were both trying to win desperately.

"**You…were worried about me?"** he interrupted abruptly and a smirk played its way across his face most teasingly as if he couldn't believe the luck he had stumbled upon, an expression of pure merciless sarcastic humor over the thought that she hadn't been able to completely mask her true emotions the way she had hoped to and from the flicker of doubt that had flashed across her face, she had realized to that her charade was falling apart, yet she persisted to continue, not one to give up.

"**I…ummm…Of…COURSE I WAS WORRIED!!! HONESTLY, DIDN'T YOU THINK I WOULD FIND IT BIT STRANGE THAT YOU WOULD JUST TAKE OFF LIKE THAT WITHOUT A WORD, GONE FOR OVER A DAY, NOT A SIGN OF WHERE YOU WERE AND I COULDN'T EVEN TRACK YOU DOWN AND…WHAT IS SO FUNNY??? HUH??? WHAT EXACTLY IS IT THAT HAS THAT STUPID SMIRK STAMPED ACROSS YOU FACE???"**

Because, of course, to have Bulma hesitate with her words in the beginning and then rant off illogically due to lack of defensive support was more than Vegeta had bargained it for and frankly, he was enjoying it very much, having her at such a disadvantage in the process of mastered cover up and so naturally, that trademark smirk really would not disappear anytime soon, with or without Bulma's approval.

"**MY GOD!!! YOU ARE UNBELIEVABLE!!! DON'T YOU UNDERSTAND!!! I WAS WORRIED SICK!!! I WAS SO UPSET!!! WHAT IF YOU'D GOTTEN SICK??? WHAT IF YOU WERE HURT??? NO FOOD, NO SHELTER, NO NOTHING!!! ALL ALONE, GOD KNOWS YOU CAN'T TAKE CARE OF YOURSELF ON YOUR OWN ANYMORE!!! I WAS SO WORRIED!!!"**

The apparent traces of agony seemed to have seeped in through the cracks on the mask of anger Bulma had defined for herself so that Vegeta was able to suddenly feel somewhat as sympathetic as he could towards her, even if she was beginning to disturb his peace of mind, lying there on the floor on top of him, seeming suddenly more appealing by the second without realizing her vulnerable situation. Carefully, so as not to move her about too much he attempted sitting up a bit so that his neck wasn't craning forward in such an uncomfortable manner and then brought his arms around Bulma, bringing his hands up to cup her face and force her to look straight at him and it slowly dawned on him that though her worries were only minor they really had disturbed her emotionally.

"**Really Bulma"** he spoke up in a consoling tone all of a sudden, nothing like the mocking voice he had just been using with her. **"You would think, with your 'unsurpassed intelligence' you would have figured** **out that these worries of yours are nothing compared to what I've been through in my life. I haven't always been dependent on earthling luxurious as they are so don't get yourself in a nervous wreck every second over something that 'might' happen to me or you're going to have a colossal break down and then it'll be me pathetically worrying over you" **

Just as the words came out of his mouth, slipping past uncontrollably, he realized what he had just said and regretted it immensely because even though these were where his true feelings and emotions lay he was still trying to play it in front of Bulma as if he didn't possess any such human sentimental oddities and here he was, contradicting that very desire of being dubbed 'emotionless'.

"**You…would worry about me?" **she questioned abruptly, a hint of shock accentuating the question and for a brief moment she merely stared right at him, as if trying to understand what he had just let slip and the many unreadable expressions that ran within his eyes were enough to tell her that this was a question that should never have been asked, the answer was so plainly obvious it couldn't be anything else but.

Silence continued to ebb amongst the two of them, neither one able to speak to the other, one feeling deceived by the situation of what he assumed now was a foolish and dumbfounded occurrence, the other struggling to understand what she assumed was possibly one of the most profound moments of depth she had ever been forced to submit herself into.

After what could have been an eternity or many eternities even, many infinite circles in which the two of them, minus the trivial exclamations of their minds, basked in the plain warmth and joy of simply having another to feel close to them, the silence just couldn't last, being pulled on it's final strings until at last they snapped and one of them just needed to break it, to give the long awaited answer.

"**I will always worry about you Bulma…always…"**


	42. Always Always Always A Bride's Maid

_**Pride & Prejudice **__**D.B.Z**_

_**Chapter Forty Two**_

_Bulma swiftly opened the metal lock catch case with an emitted echo of a snap by work of her slender flashing fingers and took out the thin black metal wire spectacles out of their refuge, unclasping them before gently placing them on the bridge of her nose, her stylish reading aid glasses now in position as she reached out forward across the kitchen table for the dwindling fountain pen at the other end and the thick bottle of glassy looking black ink. Grabbing hold of the utensils tightly and pulling them towards her she dipped the pen lightly into the acrid consistency, dabbing it out against a tissue and then began applying a fancy cursive writing to one of the many yet to be applied place cards, ChiChi strictly gazing over her shoulder with some anticipation, readily giving instructions, refusing to leave her position like some determined shadow, gripping the back of the wooden chair nail clingingly, digging them into the splintering surface._

"**Put Krillin and his…girlfriend…over by the right, close to the band's stage…oh!****And put Master Roshi on the table to the left with our parents…that seems safest! But just to be even safer…knowing Roshi…put him in the middle, between our dad's…for your mom's best interests at heart!!!"**

_Bulma shook her head lightly with a giggle as she applied this good naturedly to the card in what she hoped would be perfected calligraphy and then sat back, pen twiddling in hand, awaiting further directions as to seating arrangements while ChiChi pondered over the various possibilities._

_For the last few days, Bulma had been at the temperamental mercy and uncontrollable grief of the "too-soon-to-be-bride", being her well chosen and highly capable bride's maid and had thus been subjected to running around, taking care of booking a large, and more importantly, strong enough hall to withstand the formidable task of playing host to the Z Senshi and managing to survive past the regular damage of cracking walls and splintering ceilings that came with the typical partying of such a clumsy force. Well, being famous, wealthy, genius and, according to her self revolving thoughts anyway, extremely charismatic, Bulma had found booking the most extravagant and well located hall with the advantage of supporters a challenge at it's lowest extremes, having been able, not only to secure the venue at the most inconvenient of dates but also getting it booked for less than 75% of the price due to a hefty donation of capsules she had managed to grab hold of from the basement storage of Capsule Corporation. _

_Of course, ChiChi and Goku had practically fallen in love all over again when they entered the hall for the first time for, even bare and undecorated it was a dazzling sight with a red satin curtained wooden stage, marble floors so devotedly polished it was a mirror below them, equivalent to the gleaming ceiling from which hung the largest crystal chandelier Bulma had ever had the heart stopping pleasure of setting her eyes upon. Krillin, who had also accompanied the trio, being the best man and all, highly approved of it, pointing out to Bulma certain things here and there while Goku and ChiChi merely gaped about in awe._

_For a moment Bulma felt the infinite sense of self-confidence and accomplishment but it was short lived since two hours later, back when she was relaxing at home after having set her mind and body to such a tedious task ChiChi called in frantic hysteria over the catering, explaining that the office was so far out and she was stuck at home with Goku, helping him put together a successful guest list and so Bulma had set out and complied a luxurious menu with the head of the cater ring department, also accepting the services at a bargain of a price, this time using her wit. _

_But a bride's maid's work is never done since only the next day Bulma was put to the task of arranging a decorating party from the largest most successful interior designing company and at the same time multi tasking with the job of hiring an orchestra to play and arranging plans for the design of ChiChi's wedding dress as well as her own bride's maid outfit. When she had called Krillin to see if he could possibly help her she realized the best man wasn't being let off any easier, having been given the duty of booking a well suited white tuxedo for Goku which seemed to be in short supply for his size, as well as renting out some sort of fashionable transport and at the same time, accompanying Goku to the jewelers to find what Goku claimed "would be the shiniest rock on the entire planet" for his 'dear' ChiChi. _

_It was no joke, being best man and bride's maid and just the previous night, when the four had sat down around the fireplace at ChiChi's to pen the invitations that Bulma and Krillin both fell back on the carpet from fatigue, in heavy slumber so that the engaged couple had to take care of the invites themselves._

_But Bulma now realized that that small break was all the gap she had before another unsettling ruckus of a day in which ChiChi would come over and arrange the place cards with her before they set out to check on the articles of clothing after which a stop by the interior decorators to drop of the bill needed to be made, followed by an emergency trip to the florists and Bulma had really begun to feel the hours of sleep she needed._

"**Let's keep Oolong as FAR as possible from the food…the table closest to Krillin's****with Yajirobe and Korin…if he's coming and…Bulma? Bulma?"**_ ChiChi, who had been unceremoniously droning on and on bent down and noticed to her utmost shock that Bulma had unconditionally fallen asleep, resting her chin on her clasped hands, the bags hanging under eyes so apparent in her state of unconsciousness that ChiChi actually became tense and nervous over the situation before gently and hesitantly shaking her awake, which she did, sitting up suddenly, blinking furiously as if unaware of what happened._

"**So sorry ChiChi,"**_ she mumbled uncomfortably, reaching out in desperation for her cooled mug of coffee and taking a tentative sip before setting it aside and picking the pen up again. _**"I just haven't been myself lately…and just a bit tired but don't worry…I'll be totally fresh on the wedding day!"**_ She managed a weak smile for added pleasure but ChiChi instantly picked up and shook her head dejectedly._

"**You're over working yourself Bulma…why not let me take the load…you need a break before you drive yourself beyond your natural limits…"**_ she pleaded but Bulma' rejection was major denial to her friend's kindly protests._

"**No thank you! I am planning your wedding"**_ she finalized in a strict tone. _**"You are more worked up than ever about this and the last thing you need before your wedding is pressure! No! I am the bride's maid and this is what bride's maids do so just relax!"**

"**But…it feels so wrong…it's my wedding and I'm throwing it all on you…it should be me doing the work…why put the burden on your back…"**

"**ChiChi…this is the way it's supposed to be****so please don't feel bad,"**_ Bulma consoled in an attempt to comfort her friend, _**"And if it makes you feel better, I will totally dump on you when my wedding comes up!!!"**

_They were words that merely came out to make her friend feel better but even as she said them so casually without a trace of fulfilling flare Bulma felt the somersault of a million butterflies tumbling in her stomach and her eyes managed to flicker their up towards the ceiling, her own self comfort over a certain someone's acknowledgement._

"**Really? Is it really no big deal because if it is?"**_ but ChiChi was not given a second chance to dwell on her guilt because Bulma had already resumed working on the place cards and merely interrupted ChiChi by asking unnoticing, _**"Who's after Korin?"**_ to which ChiChi could not object and merely huffed in a defeated voice, _**"Just seat Tien and Chiatzu together in the table behind our parents"**

_Nodding with approval Bulma allowed her hand to swirl around before bringing it to a swift halt just as she finished her fashioned "U" and created an accidental blot on the empty square print box resembling the seat next to the name 'Tien' which she had so carefully marked._

_It seemed so very awkward that even now she was so emotionally pulled at even the slightest mention of her "ex-boyfriend", though, as she had put it whenever debating with herself, 'he was history' a subject in school she had always strongly disliked, she convinced herself as she nibbled away at the tip of her pen thoughtfully. Even though what Yamcha had done was in her opinion and stance, currently unforgivable, it had been a beautiful relationship during it's progressing years and though it had not ended well it was sad nonetheless because no matter what, at the end of it, she couldn't regret spending those days with Yamcha. Though he had not been the one for her they had shared some wonderful times together and she could say without a doubt that looking back on those fun filled memories, she was glad to have spent them with Yamcha, her Yamcha, not this strange corrupted one but her old kind hearted, honest, pure and moralistic Yamcha that she had wholly adored and even if she hated him now completely she wasn't sure that she was quite complete and accepting of the loss of the relationship and feelings themselves. _

'**No use dwelling over the past though' **_she scolded herself._**' What's done is done****and it doesn't matter now. What I must do from now is what really counts!"**_ A sense of euphoria consuming her she resumed with her writing back to it's original speed, bringing round the curl of the 'Y' that would label the beginning of his name._

'**Besides'**_ she thought to herself with much determined pleasure. _**'I have someone else now…'**_ and once again her vivid gaze trailed to the hanging surface above as a slow spreading hidden smile crept its way into existence and her heart beat amanged to skip before accelerating as she felt glowing admiration for her 'special someone'._

"**Ugh…Bulma?" **_ChiChi mumbled and Bulma let out a tired sigh to show she was able to hear. _**"Bulma…Yamcha's not there…you're going to have to put him on another table…with Puar and…his…date…"**

_And just like that Bulma's every drop of happiness seeped away into nothingness as she pressed hard on the pen, causing the nib to dent, bend and eventually crack which led to the excess ink leaking out into a messy black puddle across the place card while she merely allowed her eyes to glaze over and ChiChi over saw the metamorphosis in silence, knowing her words would do nothing, that she should just listen for know._

"**A…date…?"**_ Bulma expressionlessly recited and ChiChi could only nod once in a grave motion before Bulma allowed the pen to fall into the inky puddle and attempted to hold back the prickling sensation that had centered around her eyes._

"**So…he's moved on…moved on…quite fast…" **_She might as well have been speechless; her words were so meaningless as they came out in a dry stoic type of tone that could only mean masking what she truly felt._

"**I'll congratulate him next time we meet…at the wedding…'cause when else will we come face to face…and I bet we could smoothen things over a bit…right there…in front of his date!!!"**

_And it was then that the tears flooded out uncontrollably at that second so that all she could do was bury her face in her hands pathetically as if trying to hide the fact that she was crying so that ChiChi came round to take a seat next to her, comfortingly taking her in warm soothing embrace, hushing her down, rubbing her back like any friend would to another going through emotional trauma of the worst kind: a broken heart._

"**It's so UNFAIR ChiChi!!!" **_Bulma wept bitterly, trying to wipe away her flowing tears in vain for the rivers that kept shooting out had no ending, they were infinite as they fell on the cloth of ChiChi's dress, burning the skin of Bulma's face and wherever else they fell on her, the contact like acid for her, to be shedding worthless tears over something, or somebody, so loathsome. Her hiccups were unsteady and causing breathing problems, her whole body a quivering mass that just needed to be comforted and her mind, which had been churring with many hateful and depressed thoughts had finally burst, not being able to take the emotional strain anymore and so had given way for the tears and the thoughtless curses and the countless wave of blubbering that accompanied the whole ordeal._

"**Bulma…sweetie…don't…"**_ ChiChi ushered in motherly manner, her maternal tone so very soothing for Bulma to hear as she dampened ChiChi's lap and continued to cry along. _**"He wasn't worth it…he truly wasn't worth it if he did that…it's better this way…"**

"**But ChiChi …you don't get it…" **_Bulma sighed out in muffled cries, tightening her grip on ChiChi's sleeves and giving up the force of holding back the water works that had absolutely no intention of halting themselves. _**"I'm not crying over him…I'm not…I already know he's not worth it…he is nothing…"**

"**Then what is it that has you so upset Bulma?" **_ChiChi mused, lightly running her fingers through Bulma's hair in an airy way, massaging Bulma's aching head to at least give her some physical peace at mind, even if the mental case was a lost cause in all respects. _

"**It's just,"**_ Bulma managed to hiccup in a sniffled voice, _**"he got OVER it…over me…over US…over the relationship we shared…so easily…he just got another date just like that!"**_ To emphasize her point she weakly raised her hand and in a defeated way snapped her fingers going _**"Just like that"**_ a few empathetic times before letting her arm limply fall by her side again and continuing. _**"It's just so unfair that he can get over the loneliness and the betrayal and the emptiness and the HEARTACHE so easily and I CAN'T!!! I want to get over these horrible feelings and move on to something better! It's so depressing just staying on square one and dwelling on whether I'll ever be able to have a life again because of this one****rejection! I mean, sure, I'm the rejecter, but if I'd known that he's just getting off so easy! I mean, I'm the victim! If he can hook up with some girl so fast why hasn't my special guy come around??? The fact is that I'm just jealous he managed it so well and I'm still having nervous breakdowns!!! It's pathetic! I should be happy so why aren't I?"**

_Pulling away from her friend, Bulma in all her red faced, bloodshot eyed glory, gazed across at her friend who had her hands gripped tightly, squeezing them to show support before speaking in hushed tones some of the wisest things Bulma had ever heard her say._

"**Bulma…what you feel is so natural I can practically feel it in my own blood…what has happened to you is beyond comprehension and yet utterly understandable…you and Yamcha were never meant****to be it seems and that unsettles you because it is now time for you to find someone else…well listen to me Bulma…the fact that Yamcha has gotten over it so quickly only shows he's a blinded person who'll pick up the first chick that gives him a second glance…especially if he wasted the opportunity to be with such a unique person…a blue hair scientist I admire for all her amazing qualities, good and bad! I don't have any personal hatred for Yamcha, minus every awful stab he's given towards you but Goku has faith in his friends despite his numerous flaws and so with all due respect to your hurt, I could never wish him ill like that but from what I can see, this is his future…so don't be jealous of someone who will only survive with half-relationships mainly consisting of turmoil and don't search for Mr. Right. Because from what I've been witnessing in this household, there's already enough chemistry going on and Mr. Right seems to be very close by…"**

"**What do you mean by that?"**_ Bulma pouted innocently, rubbing her eyes with clenched fists to erase a minority of the crying jags effect and it seemed to falling into place quite well because Bulma's smile began to appear across her cheeks again, the colour resuming to normal._

"**I mean that I know you and Vegeta are now officially on more than intimate relations, just so you know! What exactly happened that day you left from our house?" **_ChiChi elaborated slyly, giving her a playful wink which Bulma took in as a good turn for some discussion with her best friend and suddenly her dismal mood started to lighten up, from the oppression over one lost relationship to the rise of a new heart's interest. _

_What could she honestly say to ChiChi that wouldn't be a dead give away that she was completely and totally nuts and maddeningly happy over Vegeta and that his very name seemed to pump a source of adrenaline through her body, that her spine would tingle, her legs would buckle and her heart would refuse to follow normal humane breathing patterns and all of a sudden she just felt heavenly light and far gone into eternity, in a way that she could feel the power of his kisses taking control of her all over again. Whenever she thought of Vegeta it was an anti-thesis of ecstasy, bringing back the horrid shredded memories of when, so soon after their confession towards one another he had so cruelly departed leaving her in a dismantled state but at the same time she felt the flushing warmth, bringing back to her the flooding memories of when he had returned, after yelling herself hoarse how he had attempted to seduce her and how she had so easily deceived him but then, how the tables had turned in a twisted most cunning layout for when she thought she'd given him a piece of her mind and had him in her submission he had made her stop to question herself completely, how he made it known to her that against her better judgment, he did truly care for her. How then, in her seconds of confusion he had taken advantage of her unprepared ness and she had found herself suddenly locked within his impenetrable embrace, seated most leisurely in his lap, so that she could simply tilt back and gaze up at him and suddenly everything was right with the world, for when his strong arms held you so warmly, when his eyes watched over you so protectively, when his heart reverberated so strongly that when you leaned your head against his chest to sleep peacefully you could feel it pounding against you with all it's overflowing emotion, how could it not all be right? Everything was perfect, being able to just blissfully lie in his arms, knowing from all his silent words that he was ready to give his life up just to protect her, that he would do anything to prevent hurting her and that it was worth everything if he could just see her smile and knowing all of this made Bulma ache to cling onto him tighter for he invoked in her not just the natural erotic pleasure she had felt before but also unlocked for the first in her life, pure unconditional wholesome love. When he rocked her to sleep the way he had done that night she felt as if she would never pry herself out of his arms, would prefer just to stay like that forever and ever, so that they could never be separated, so that they would never fall apart…ever…_

_Reaching out for a new, unscathed clear place card, Bulma gave ChiChi a knowing smile before resuming to applying guests' names to the correct seats on the cards, knowing this might be her one and only chance to do the job just right, to make everything turn out more than okay, to be the most perfect bridesmaid…_


	43. Dunking Doughnuts

_**Pride & Prejudice **__**D.B.Z**_

_**Chapter Forty Three**_

Vegeta was literally on the breaking verge of bursting a temple without more than a second's thought before leaping onto the man with a cheap French accent, who, rather than being afraid of the Saiyan Prince's threatening presence, was instead acting completely put off by him, not even attempting to make an effort anymore to present at least some courtesy.

It was all the more irritating to see Bulma hiding behind yet another one of her ridiculous bridal magazines, choking on held back laughter, nevertheless, betrayed by her shaking shoulders and stuttering giggles from being the page that hadn't turned once for the last ten minutes.

"'**old steel Monsieur! You're measurmont veel come out rong!!!"**

Rolling his eyes deep into his sockets with more than just a little bit of exasperation Vegeta attempted to physically freeze his body, sticking his arms out while the tape measurer pretty much engulfed one of his legs so that a step forward would cause him to trip and fall flat on his face with less than the necessary grace.

"**Ah!!! Now…veel take eet up fwom 'ere…like zees…"** the tailor went on, apparently addressing Bulma who tried to look as focused and concentrated as one could be after laughing themselves light headed while pretending to be disguising this over a façade of being absorbed in an article on "how to pin a up a strapless wedding gown-too avoid those nasty accidents on the aisle" She had gone as far as, Vegeta had noticed with rather keen eyes during the turmoil of measuring his length, to go to the trouble of folding that particular page and wondered exactly what would be happening at this so called wedding that was to take place.

He had of course, never witnessed an earthling marriage, god forbid anything such as this celebration were to have taken place back on his deceased home planet and he was quite glad of it. Imagining the ruby red existence to be covered with such florals and frills over something as minor as a mating made him feel considerably nauseous.

However, when he tried to bring this up with Bulma he rather regretted it since her entire life focus at the current point was weddings and with her rose tinted glasses for eyes, demeaning romance in such a way was positively suicidal, he had come to learn this the hard way.

And that was the only reason he was now tagging along with whatever latest scheme she came up with, whatever new idea or budding inspiration, latest development and greatest achievement, he simply went along with it, not bothering to ask any questions, lest he get a whole lecture on it's history and futuristic views, not to mention, the "damage", or affects it caused in the present.

Either way, it would at least be something new and possibly entertaining, if not something to look forward to.

He still remained a bit unclear on certain aspects of the whole marriage process and wasn't sure how to bring these up with Bulma, not sure whether she was at a point where she would be able to answer questions. The other day he'd asked her why a cake was necessary over breakfast and she had practically screamed into her mug of coffee before looking up at him, eyes widened to a psychotic width before whispering something about tradition much like a mental case and then going off into a daze. He supposed she was just tired from the many sleepless nights she was facing in preparing this wedding and had a made a vow to himself, and secretly to Bulma, to never let her go ahead and volunteer to be someone else's bride's amid ever again. It might just kill her at the rate she was going, being the total perfectionist she always managed to be, over doing each and every unnecessary minute detail, it just about sickened him, the thorough effort she uselessly applied that no one but she even cared about, as if anyone would even notice.

Her ridiculous policy was "If you're going to do something you might as well do it right" didn't even cover her work half way, it was that much of an understatement and Vegeta for one didn't understand any of the fuss at all but knew better than to oppose.

"**Vell…we're done vith zees vun!" **the tailor announced with apparent relief and Vegeta couldn't have agreed more with his tone and would have made a point of expressing himself aloud if Bulma hadn't insanely pounded to his side and grabbed his hand, squeezing it tight, her private signal for him to calm himself down and keep his temper hidden for the time being, and fearing her wrath more than anything on the blue planet, he managed to keep himself silence, trying not to make his expression appear totally menacing.

"**Thank you SO much monsieur! I know how busy you are these days. I'm so grateful you would take the time out for us!"**

"**Not at all Meez Briefs! Eet waz e pleasure!" **

He definitely didn't sound as if it had been a pleasure and his facial expression spoke otherwise but he noticed that Bulma was attempting, with much forced gratitude he noticed, to overlook this flaw as she paid over an amount Vegeta preferred not to know, lest this cause him another heap load of guilt that would just pile atop his huge guilt trip.

Not wanting to set foot in the shop ever again, Vegeta more than gladly darted straight out as soon as Bulma collected her change, going as far as to keep the door open for her, if it sped things along.

"**Thank you Vegeta…that's very…woah!!!"**

Bulma didn't have much time to finish her sentence as Vegeta swiftly grabbed a hold of her arm, barely giving her time to pull on her suede jacket and get comfortable.

"**Yeah, yeah…let's just get out of here…" **he muttered half way under breathas hepulled her straight out the doorway without so much as a warning signal before dragging her along, still by the arm, aimlessly, down the sidewalk in some random direction of thoughtless choice.  
**"You really…hated…that man…didn't you…"** Bulma panted as she tried to keep her legs moving along with the ferocious speed Vegeta had started up as he wasn't about to let go of her arm any time soon, though it caused much struggle with one of her coat's sleeves still not on and being in the middle of trying to stuff spare change into her hanging off purse, her scarf blowing about in the middle of it all, getting in the way so that she beginning to regret bringing it along to wear.

"**Hate…that word doesn't even begin to describe exactly how irritating I found that dumbfound human to be…"**

"**Hey!" **Bulma cried in defense for her species, feeling slightly shunned,"** In case you've forgotten Vegeta, I happen to be a human to!"**

"**Yes…but who said anything about you being dumbfound?"** he snipped back, leaving his captive in silence for once, pondering over this thoughtfully while Vegeta continued at the awfully difficult pace.

"**Do you even know where we're going?" **she asked in a matter of minutes after she was sure he'd steamed down a bit and found a perfectly suitable answer as he came to a halt straight in front of a conveniently located doughnut shop and looked down at her with mixed confusion and annoyance, still not releasing her from his clutches.

"**I thought as much,"** she went on with such a knowing tone it was getting to him, the fact that she could be so positively sure at a moment where he was practically lost. **"And considering the hover car is parked in THAT direction…" **she informed him, pointing a finger that was obviously not where he had been heading so that he found himself coloring a bit at the whole situation and looking down at his shoes, not truly appreciating the white of a pair of brand new velcro strap sneakers.

Just then a deep grumbling sound erupted from the endless caverns of his stomach echoing so that yet another one of those endless giggles escaped from Bulma that caused him to define his face into something of a hilarious looking blush that he absolutely loathed.

"**Well…it looks like someone's hungry…maybe that's why you dragged us all the way across central down…to go scavenge some doughnuts…" **she cooed and to his absolute embarrassment she was bending down as if she was speaking to his stomach and it opened up a filter of the weirdest thoughts he had ever been forced to indulge in that he actually backed away from her, instantly releasing her to get away.

"**What are you DOING!?!?!"** he practically screamed in horror. **"I think this whole wedding business is getting to you…twisting your concepts so that you're getting all these weird…ideas…"**

"**Funny Vegeta,"** she responded as she turned on her heel to walk back down where they'd just paraded back from, not giving Vegeta much choice but to follow her, but keeping a good two feet distance between the two of them, while his stomach gurgled away for some form of attention, preferably edibles. **"Sorry Vegeta…you're going to have to keep your appetite for tonight…"**

"**What do you mean "tonight"?"** he questioned with caution, closing up on her to at least make her acknowledge her presence to receive an answer.

"**You know…"** she answered back, giving a mysterious look over his shoulder so that it actually began nerving him in ways he didn't no it was possible to be unnerved.

"**What's happening tonight?"** he demanded, completely attaching himself in her personal space, breathing directly in her ear but Bulma managed to remain completely cool about the whole situation, shocking Vegeta a bit since he had gotten quite used to her hesitating a bit with him around, not from fear but rather something else. He had so perfectly adjusted himself to a style where all he had to do was get a bit too close, speak in just the right tone that it would have Bulma practically numb on her legs, unable to speak she'd be so mesmerized that this new lack of change in apparel, this almost cool behavior had him unsettled.

"**The party of course…" **she answered calmly, hands diving into the comforts of her coat and Vegeta was suddenly finding this whole occurrence to vague for his liking. Overtaking her he began to stroll on backwards in her face to continue on with his investigation while at the same time keeping along with the pace and noticing any change in face that might betray her as it nearly always did.

"**What party? We're going to a party?"** he pushed on, leaning in towards her but she was least affected as she kept on moving on, her expression showing only a hint of amusement that was vexing his ego terribly, it was driving him insane.

"**No one said "we're" going anywhere"** she replied with a smile playing her lips that was irritating him so much in it's playful way that he, for the second time that day in a time span of only five minutes, came to a sudden stop, and grabbed Bulma by the shoulders tightly, so fast even he seemed shocked by the agility of the entire moment and couldn't believe his eyes when he saw Bulma seemed absolutely unmoved even though he might as well have been picking her up.

"**Answer me straight woman. What's going on tonight?"** he interrogated gruffly, shaking her a bit like a little child, in a way that was strict but gentle at the same time, but he was absolutely unable to appear threatening to her anymore and she just seemed to be enjoying taking all of this in, used to actually being "handled" by Vegeta as if she were so fragile he had to lift her up twenty four seven. If he wasn't mistaken, he was positive she was beginning to enjoy all of this unrequited attention and he couldn't help but feel glad since it wasn't his fault he couldn't help but keep her in his possession all the time, under his watch as she was after all, on some levels, "special" to him.

"**I swear Vegeta,"** she began sweetly as she fixed the collar of his jacket with her regular obsessing, not noticing, and if so, not caring, that she was being held half a foot in mid air, **"you worry WAY to much for a regular guy. It's just a bachelor party. You have to go. Goku's personally invited you"**

Wincing a bit at the sound of Goku personally inviting him anywhere Vegeta slowly brought Bulma down to rest on earth, a dazed expression now crossing his face before gazing back at Bulma who was just staring at him with her usual happy go-lucky expression of self confidence.

"**What…is a bachelor party?"** he pried hesitantly, as if self-conscious, a few blocks later, maybe half way closer to the hover car than back at the doughnut shop.

"**It's a party…well…that's obvious…it's the groom's last party as a single man I guess…he and his friends go out and have a men's night out I guess…"**

More wincing but Vegeta attempted to disguise it as he asked Bulma what she'd do for the rest of the night, since, even though he didn't want to make it obvious, he'd rather know about Bulma's whereabouts before being forced to go vanish off to some strange earthling party where he was sure no benefit would occur for his life. He did care enough for her to at least know much, in case she went ahead and got herself in some other scraps since she managed to attract trouble for herself quite well.

"**Don't worry your pretty little head over me Prince Charming"** she comforted in a mocking tone before pecking his cheek with a quick yet soft kiss that nearly froze him in his tracks as she ran along, ahead of him.

"**I'll be at ChiChi's bachelorette party!!!"**

That actually succeeded in freezing him in his tracks as well as catching his breathe and he wasn't sure he wanted to know exactly what a bunch of hyper single women would do at a party together and wasn't sure he'd be allowing Bulma any exit past her front door for that night or a few night's anyway.

It only took one look at the familiar French tailoring shop to his right to get him moving along again as well as confirming it in his mind that earth's wedding celebrations were a deadly and treacherous idea, a force to be dealt with since it had the ability to render most humans defenseless in the face of cakes, dressed and nasty old flower arrangements, as well as torturing a select few who have more sense then the other hypnotized majority.


	44. My Very Own Boyfriend

_**Pride & Prejudice **__**D.B.Z**_

_**Chapter Forty Four**_

_Bulma elegantly twirled about in her tutu styled black spaghetti strap dress, giving the end a tiny flick, to demonstrate the way the frills of the skirt manage to dance around in a full circle around her waist so that her mother actually seemed stricken with surprise by the activity one skirt could perform. Bobbing up one leg which donned a black lace tights, twiddling her full base black high heeled mule she gave her mom a wink, proud for once to obsess over any article of clothing. After all, she had herself had designed this little masterpiece, the first time she'd given costumes a second thought._

_Now that she'd actually gone through the hectic business of designing something to wear she had to admit, she preferred science with it's robots and machines and other mechanical stuff but as for her creation, she'd forever cherish it for it was truly something to be flattered over if not a magnificent work of art._

"**Bulma darling, it's beautiful!'**_ Bunny gushed with pride as she looked over each satin trimming, each silken crease. _**"What I don't understand is why not for the wedding? Why to the bachelorette party?"**

"**Mom!" **_Bulma protested as she slipped on her smooth elbow length black gloves, _"**Imagine what ChiChi would do to me if I showed up at her wedding dressed like this! She'd kill me! I thought, if I'm going to get a chance to wear it anytime soon, it'd better be this party! It's perfect!"**

_With that said, Bulma managed one last turn, whipped the ears of the dressing table and her wrap, before hugging her mother farewell and going off to grab hold of Vegeta, who was hiding away in his room, practically frightened of the bachelor party he was going to have to go to._

_As she made her way down the familiar hallway like many a time before, ready to push on that door she'd done so many times already a very curious yet questionable thought dared to enter her head, sending her cheeks a flame._

'**Is Vegeta…could I call him…my boyfriend maybe?'**_ she ventured from absolutely no one with absolute innocence at mind. It was pretty clear already that the two held unfathomable feelings for each other, no secret there that was for sure, but what to call their relationship was becoming a bit of a puzzlement. You couldn't just label it 'love' and have it over with simply like that. Wouldn't this be something of a 'girlfriend'- 'boyfriend' status? But then, where were the dates that most couples of such caliber would go out on? Bulma couldn't exactly picture Vegeta taking her out to a movie and actually sitting still through out without blowing something or the other up. Nor could she see the two of them out on a candle lit dinner somewhere fancy. All options of such sorts seemed to be out wherever Vegeta taking her out was concerned but maybe the whole concept of a date wasn't out as long as she was the one taking Vegeta out on the date instead of the other way around. It wouldn't be too bad since after all, weirder things had happened to her already in the age of the few months the Saiyan Prince had come to live with her and her family. _

'**Maybe I'll ask him about it'**_ she thought to herself as she put her cat ears on, covered herself completely with her draping wrap and knocked with polite conscience on his door, glancing once at herself in the mirror to see if she had at least attached her tail right and was satisfied with the heavily black lidded blue eyes that faced her, only the slightest traces of make up across her natural face._

_The door pulled open a fraction as a _**"What?"**_ of question was announced; clearly meaning Bulma wasn't allowed to enter just yet._

"**Vegeta…Goku will be here any second! Please come out. What's taking so long anyway?"**_ she enquired as she tried to slip in but Vegeta wasn't about to let her in yet, clearly not appreciating having to go out in the first place._

"**You just stay outside woman. I'm coming. I can't believe you're making me DO this…I hate it when you dress me up…"**

"**What dress up? It's not even a suit! It's just a jacket and pants thrown on. As if I take you and the boys seriously at a party together…"**

"**Whatever. I'm coming out so just wait up…I haven't even gotten my pants on yet…"**

"**And if you think that aspires me in the least you're very mistaken…any other night it might have made me possibly intrigued-"**

"**So the idea of me without pants would intrigue you?"**

_The note of suspicious cunning couldn't have been missed by a person with a half a brain so the highly intelligent Bulma couldn't believe she'd just heard that and began pushing against the door to force her way in, not counting for the fact that a full fledged pure blooded Saiyan was fighting to keep it at a near close on the other end, and only came realize this when she was all out of energy and had to collapse against the door, and sit down on the floor of her hallway, waiting impatiently. _

"**Control yourself Bulma. Who knew you had such…unfulfilled…needs in your life…?"**

"**Yours will stay unfulfilled permanently if you don't speed it up"**_ she muttered back in annoyance, not being able to understand how his teasing could get to her and make her so angry, positively venomous, and yet, make her want to laugh and kiss him at the exact same time, it was all a very oxymoronic sensation. _

"**Alright…alright…I'm coming…"**

_She could hear a lot of crashing and thuds going on in there and wasn't even sure she wanted to know anymore when her previous thoughts returned and she actually began to build up the courage to maybe quiz Vegeta on his opinion._

"**Hey…Vegeta?"**

"**Hm?"**

"**Ughhhh…what would you call…us…?"**

"**WHAT the HELL does THAT mean?"**

_He clearly wasn't going to take this with ease but Bulma felt persistent and kept on going at it, she was desperate for an answer of some sorts._

"…**I mean…as in…well…where do we stand…?"**

"**You outside this room and myself in this room…hopefully for the entire night since I'm not exactly for going out with Kakarot and his tiny group of midget weaklings…"**

"**That's…not what I meant Vegeta…and only Krillin's slightly short and I'm sure he's just…a late bloomer or something…even though…it's quite late…but…that's not the point! No! What I mean is Vegeta…this would be easier if I could actually see your face…!"**

"**You're NOT getting in woman so just say what you have to say…I'm listening…"**

"**Okay…I want to know…what's our relationship…?"**

_Silence seemed to have consumed the other side of the door and as Bulma pressed her ear against the wood she was pretty sure Vegeta had actually ceased all breathing functions in his condition and had half a mind to disobey him and go in anyway, regardless of his having clothes on or not, just in case he needed C.P.R. But she managed to resist the temptation to do something that stupid, not to mention reckless, and pursue on with her questions, even if he had completely lost all ability to speak._

"**Ummm…Vegeta? Look…I just wanted to know…I mean…I guess I know what our relationship is…we've pretty much figured that much out…but…I was wondering…I****don't know…are you maybe like…a 'boyfriend'?"**

_Taking in a very deep and exaggerated breathe Bulma wasn't sure when it would be safe to exhale and so she waited with much anticipation, her fingers crossed behind her back, eyes closed tightly, wondering what she had just gotten herself into when suddenly the door flew open and she was face to face with a ferociously blushing yet emotionally angered Saiyan Prince, who didn't seem to find the lack of space so disturbing as she was suddenly finding at that moment._

"**Boyfriend? I'm your…BOYFRIEND!"**

_He was stuttering and apparently he seemed highly offended though what exactly he might be taking offence at Bulma just couldn't place her finger on it only that it highly irritated him to a point of stuttering and lack of argumentative defense._

"**Ummm…yes Vegeta…"**_ Bulma assured, trying to take a step back but suddenly finding herself unable to do it, she was actually paralyzed with fear in that one lone spot while her so called "boyfriend" towered over her, looking positively murderous._

_He also looked, to Bulma's mortification, positively adorable, what, with his hair all messed up and sticking out randomly and the fact that though he'd actually worn the white shirt with the brown leather jacket she had lovingly chosen for him he had actually, by some twist of events, managed to have forgotten wearing the jeans she'd also bought and so, was standing there over her in the hallway in nothing but his boxers, not realizing it._

"**How…can you even compare me to being a low life…boyfriend…?"**_ he wanted to know and she tried very hard to look him straight in the eye and not point out that he was in his underwear._

_After all, her outfit wasn't anymore decent and she actually planned to go out in public that way._

"**It's not a bad thing Vegeta…girlfriend-boyfriend is a pretty normal… relationship …really…it is…"**

"**The term itself is haneous…"boyfriend"…I never want to be addressed in such a way…it's disgusting!"**

"**Ummm…okay…sure…if you hate it so much…I'll never ever call you my boyfriend again!"**

"**Good. At least we've sorted that matter out. We don't need to have to create something to address each other by. That's just a strange form of pretending to OWN someone…"**

_Bulma refrained from bringing up the fact that now all feelings were open and clearly mutual between them, Vegeta had grown more possessive over Bulma by the second, to and extent that she felt that he really did own her. True, he didn't exactly follow her about like a lap dog, fulfilling her every last request, giving her her every desire and attending to her every whim. Vegeta would never have stooped that low and maybe that was what she truly admired in him, the quality of being able to leave her alone completely when he wasn't actually leaving her at all. He never bugged her about where she was going, only asked and that barely ever and he never exactly asked to tag along and nearly always had to be forced to do so. He never purposely showed his jealousy when in public and amongst the crowd he looked fine. Only Bulma would ever see the signs that he feeling a bit extra protective but not by the way he spoke or acted which was all in a Vegeta-ish manner, but rather in the way his fists grew clenched and a temple would have a freak out on the side of his forehead. And the fact that he was bossy was just there right from the beginning. He never actually nagged her to do things but when it came to her personal well being, he was always ordering her about as if she really HAD no mind of her own and in an irritating yet endearing way she found that very sweet._

_Vegeta really had grasped in his mind by some way that he truly owned Bulma Briefs, that she belonged to him so he could to whatever the hell he wanted with her. He had even grown the habit of lifting her up sometimes when he was particularly angry or annoyed about something. _

_He could be angry that the television remote isn't working and come and pick her up by the shoulders and demand that she fix it and she absolutely loved that about him. Most women might not appreciate this physical gesture but Bulma wasn't like most women, never had been and never would be, and after seeing Vegeta from the beginning, she could see the drastic change that had made a metamorphosis in his very personality. He could now actually own a person and hold affection for them at the same time. _

"**You're right Vegeta,"**_ she agreed, and fell into the habit of arranging his collar for him again. _**"You being a boyfriend is to low…I don't know what to call you but I know what you are to me…I guess that's what's important…"**

"**Fine…whatever…is Kakarot here yet…?"**

"**Nope. Not just yet…"**

"**I have half a mind to lock myself up and not come out for the rest of the night. Why should I have to go to HIS little party? I have absolutely no interest in spending the remainder of tonight watching him go silly over music and food and whatever****other nonsense you people have at what you call parties"**

"**Do me a favor and at least pretend to have fun..."**_ Bulma sighed with sarcasm in her statement dead apparent._

"**While you go ahead partying and actually having a good time…why don't you go ahead and do whatever you want and I stay right here and do whatever I want"**

"**Sounds to me that the big Saiyan Prince is actually afraid of socializing…have you gotten soft…"**

"**You won't live long enough to get an answer…"**

_Bulma couldn't help but giggle at that one as she fiddled about with his collar a bit more, arranging it loosely and then bringing it back up and then pulling it about until Vegeta finally rolled his eyes, an activity he seemed to be doing more and more and actually getting better and better. _

"**Why do you do THAT?"**_ he finally exclaimed in annoyance, causing Bulma to break out of her day dreams and pay attention to him, hands frozen at his collar._

"**Do what exactly?"**

"**Fiddle about with my jacket! You just keep on doing it…why are you always pestering me about it? As if I don't know how to put a jacket on!"**

_He was making such a gargantuan fuss over something so minor Bulma wanted by every urge to laugh out loud in his face but managed to hold mercy over him and keep a straight grin plastered in form, before leaning in towards him and planting a soft kiss on his lips._

_It wasn't one of passion she meant to pass, just something fun to do now that she knew she could do it without having her life at risk, not exactly being one of the suicidal type. Vegeta had always struck her as something of a bomb, ready to go off at any second and blast a fuse that, in all respect, really COULD blow up the entire planet without error or flaw. But of course, all bombs regardless of power can be shut off by some method, can be refigured and recalculated, can be overpowered and burnt out. Kissing him now, with such exploding rhythm and beat, she was absolutely sure that the fuse was finally out forever and she'd probably never have to worry about it again, no matter what happened._

_Making her way across him as leisurely as one could, she decided to pull apart before he got a bit into it, for she could already feel his arms creeping around her, the way they tightened and locked her in, the way in one second she'd be the one leading and then in the next he'd suddenly be in control and she'd be overpowered by such an overwhelming sensation, how she'd experience the most breathtaking of experiences and as the temptation began growing, growing so fast she wasn't sure, if she didn't pull apart that second that she would even want to pull apart at all and so, with much regret she released him. She could tell that he was disappointed, he had become so very heavy in her arms then but she could also tell he understood that maybe right there and right then was the wrong time and the wrong place, that they would eventually get their moment, just not at that particular venue and so she began to peel herself away, before remembering something urgent and so leaned in again to whisper into his ear._

"**Learn to put your pants on first and THEN we'll talk about your jacket"**


	45. Cat Got Your Tongue

_**Pride & Prejudice **__**D.B.Z**_

_**Chapter Forty Five**_

Vegeta began to feel the cold air rush in between their bodies as Bulma tried to stealthily slip away after stating what she hoped would be one final comment but he wasn't done with her. If he had to go off to this dry and boring party he was determined to get some early fun out of it.

She had to be put in her place, being the mischievous and devilish minx she was and who better then to hold her on her rope than him and so he went against her will and tightened his grip on her waist.

"**Looks like I'm not the only one who forgot to wear pants tonight"** he sneered accusingly with a raised eyebrow as his fingers lingered under her trailing wrap and her tell-tale cheeks betrayed the truth. He always found it most amusing when her pale cheeks filled with their regular crimson flush, and couldn't describe the emotions that tore up inside him when he was the one responsible for the blood flowing up so fast.

"**Yes…well…my party is more of a…costume themed occasion"** she muttered quickly, pulling away slightly, as she adjusted the strange pointy things poking out of her hair band and it was only then that Vegeta completely took in her bizarre attire.

A knee length deep black wrap covered her entirely only betraying the slight vision of her tightly clad in lace legs and impossibly high black heels. Something thin and black was trailing down from behind her but he couldn't catch a decent glimpse of it and so continued to scrutinize her front where her hands were decked in lengthy gloves and her eyes were practically painted black with just a tinge of shiny stuff that she sometimes referred to as glitter.

'**Not that she needs it'** he told himself with some mild satisfaction, since after all, she was his.

And then there were what could only be taken as cat ears on her head, sticking out of the hair band, completely black and looking realistically furry and he Vegeta, had no idea what to make of her.

"**Woman? Why do you have feline ears?"** he questioned uneasily, as he oversaw her once more before noticing the smile playing at her lips.

"**Oh…these?"** she mused playfully, gesturing towards her ears as she loosened her grip on her wrap, **"they're just part of the costume. You have seen my costume, haven't you?"**

"**Actually I don't believe I have. It doesn't sound like something I would forget so simple mindedly" **he retorted in an equally leveled voice, wondering what she was playing at. It always seemed to be something, some mild mind game, something seductive, something sensual, and he never really understood how to respond, how far to take it, how far to go, when or how?

She was such a playful human, a most attractive creature and he was starting to have a lot of difficulty holding himself back, restraining his urges. He was a Saiyan, and he possessed the animal like instinct that required him to become more attached than she could imagine but still, he held back, knowing that perhaps she wasn't ready.

And though he desired it, he knew well enough to remain patient and wasn't about to impose himself on her. He attempted to control how far they went together, not simply in the way they kissed, but rather how much further from their kisses they went, which, so far, had not been much.

He had a deepening desire to roam in further into her, explore her vast body but had to remind himself to keep a steady head and keep his cool, control not just her, but himself.

Even his thoughts had to be kept intact, must not border off, must be kept cleansed so she could always remain pure and untouched to him.

She was much too delicate to be defaced to him in any way.

Her eyes were now opened wide with innocence as she began to turn around, letting the wrap fall gracefully down her shoulders, cascading down her creamy skin, revealing thin curling black straps clinging to her shoulders. The wrap made its way down her waist, showing off the black cloth of her dress that was elegantly clinging to her, the net of her tutu which was raised to the most exceptional yet erotic height. And then the wrap fell completely, giving away her fine slender legs that were being posed for his favor, her entire body revealed in her tight and absolutely scandalous costume. And he saw nothing of it.

"**WHAT IS ATTACHED TO YOUR ASS!" **

Vegeta couldn't help but back up against his bedroom door in pure unconditional horror at the sight of what was sticking out of her rear and for a second Bulma yelped in fear and began spinning around in circles to simply get a view of her own behind before realizing what he was referring to.

"**KAMI! You mean the tail!"** she exclaimed in understanding, a bubbly and completely familiar giggle escaping her lips as she waved her so-called "tail" against Vegeta leg, to which he responded by withdrawing as far from her as possible.

"**Vegeta, don't be squeamish! I'm going as a cat to the party! That's all…"**

"**And did the cat lose most of her clothing while getting ready?" **he responded back scathingly, yet unable to take his eyes off her, for, despite the absolute lack of subtlety and humiliation, she had managed to pull of this most ridiculous look very gracefully. Except for that tail, for that could never be graceful and he was ready to stake his life on it.

"**It's a bachelorette party big head!"** she remarked, spinning the tail around in her gloved hands as she eyed him, ignoring his faltering expression at the comment on the size of his head. **"Everyone will be dressed a bit out of the way. It's only us girls after all"**

"**And since all you crazy females are getting together, I would assume that it would be safer to wear something more…humane…"**

"**And spoil all the fun! Come on Vegeta, dressing up is enjoyable once you try it…"** she pointed out, spinning around for him a bit, her tutu rising up with the wind.

Vegeta observed this childish action and for a second, rashly thought that yes, perhaps it might be enjoyable.

It certainly was to admire.

"**Whatever woman. If you find it enjoyable, by all means, go scampering about in that outfit but don't expect me to come to your beck and call once it gets you into trouble"**

"**The only trouble I'm in danger of getting at the moment is being hassled by the likes of you, more so as you are missing certain articles of clothing"** she slyly pointed out, much to Vegeta's aggravation.

"**Like I said, I'm not the only one, feline"** was his most composed response as he began to turn away from her, wondering at the absurdity of it.

"**You be lucky I'm not wearing the bunny outfit. Now that's something!" **she called out as he began to close the door, but stopped at that comment.

"**Are you suggesting there could be anything worse than what you have on?"**

"**Of course. The bunny outfit offers so much more by wearing so less…"**

He wasn't sure whether she was toying with him or not and he wasn't sure whether he wanted to continue but he sought out from behind the refuge of the door, ready to face her once again determined to see how far she'd go.

"**And you wouldn't want to be a timid little bunny now would you?"**

"**Bunnies…they're too shy"** she mused, taking a step towards him, but he didn't falter, remained stoic and still, letting her brush up close to him, bring her body close to his. **"They get excited to easily and just run away"**

She brought her gloved hand trailing up his arm, finger by finger, but he refused to react.

Let her play with fire, let her step right into danger, and then he'd spring his trap.

"**Now cats…they don't scare so easily…"**

Her fingers had reached his jacket collar again and were fiddling about with it and Vegeta nearly pulled away simply from annoyance, but the curiosity to know exactly how far she'd go today forced him to stay put. She leaned in closer.

"**They're bold and outrageous…"** she spoke, her voice, lowering it's tone slightly as she took another step closer, though that should have been impossible, she was already leaning into him, and he was finding the lack of space, or virtually no space, absolutely invigorating, though, he wasn't about to betray this information to her.

"**You never really do know when a cat might…pounce"** she whispered in a deathly voice, her face now barely and inch away from his, her hand disappearing into his hair, fingering it lovingly as she locked her gaze with his.

He wondered if he should protest or just go with the flow, not really sure of what to do at this point.

Her lips were lingering dangerously close, almost touching his own, making them tingle, and once again she spoke, her lips moving most erotically against his.

"**So you see…"** she continued so low, they were tiny breathes blowing against his face, **"a bunny…wouldn't be as much fun…would it…Vegeta?" **

The way she said his name, the way she said it in that rough, almost tired voice, it nearly sent him into frenzy but he restrained himself, while her lips pressed softly against his, in a quick and most innocent kiss.

'**Bloody temptress'** he thought to himself in amusement, **'She's the worst of her kind'**

He held in all desire to kiss her back, he was determined to show her that where they were concerned, it wasn't so simple to seduce him for with him, it wouldn't work that way.

"**What's wrong Vegeta?"** she asked quietly, not yet moving away. **"Cat got your tongue?"**

A smile played at her mouth at the irony of her little joke and all of a sudden Vegeta couldn't care less who had started the game for he leaped in, frightening the cat, for she was only a vulnerable little kitty, and claimed her lips in a heartbeat.

There, in the middle of her hallway he kissed her most tentatively, disbelieving that he could still want so much of her, even though she always gave him more than she had. Her arms groped around his neck, allowing her to simply hang in his arms as they went in deeper, into their passionate, yet innocent kiss.

And then, right there, as quick as it had started, it finished as Vegeta unwillingly pulled away and Bulma gazed up at him, a most puzzled expression written across her face.

"**Is something wrong?"** she asked in genuine worry and he realized that he had never before denied her a kiss. He couldn't help but smirk to himself upon realizing the prospect of how desperate she really was in her love for him, and how maybe, stringing her on like she had him, wouldn't be so difficult.

"**Of course not"** he chided, cupping her face in his palms as she gazed up at him. **"And if I didn't have this extremely important party to get to dear feline I would have been happy to continue…"**

"**Oh NO!"** Her voice had returned to normal, now the more teasing and aggressive kind. It really didn't matter to him how she phrased anything. Either way, he loved silencing her, in whatever method he chose; she truly was the most entertaining female ever.

"**Is this some sort of erotic bribe to get you off the hook?" **she questioned, her eyes turning into slits, and he merely cast her down with his own.

"**You said it, not me" **

"**And do you honestly think I'm falling for it?"**

"**By the way you were desperately leaning in just now, I'd have to say yes"**

"**Well, it's not going to work. I can kiss you all I want when we get home. In case you haven't forgotten, I know where you live"**

"**And what exactly makes you think I would permit you to do that woman?"**

"**Please! I happen to know you enjoy it just as much as I do"**

"**So you admit you enjoy it quite a bit"** Vegeta prided himself on watching her flustered expression as she flew into rapture.

"**OH MY GOD! I don't care who enjoys it Vegeta, you're going TO THAT PARTY!"**

Just then, as Bulma stomped one of her extremely high heels loudly, came rounding the corner, his eyes completely secured onto the newspaper he held, holding his spectacles slightly away from his eyes.

Bulma immediately distanced herself upon seeing him approach and Vegeta couldn't help but note the deep flush that had suddenly accentuated the cat's cheeks as she gazed down at herself. Vegeta didn't need to read her mind to know how desperately she wanted her wrap back on her and a force within him wished he could simply cover her up by holding him, hide her away from the embarrassing situation, in his arms where he felt, she belonged forever.

He observed the old man as he strolled past them, not looking up at either of them but muttering nonsensically to himself, scratching at his strange shade of grey hair. It was just as he was about to disappear in the room he shared with his wife that he spoke up with a slight chuckle.

"**Bulma darling, you should learn to control that temper, you might cough up a hair ball" **

And with that he disappeared inside, remarking on neither Bulma's reddened face of humiliation, nor the smirk that had spread gleefully across Vegeta's face in response to that comment.

'**Serves her right'** Vegeta remarked in some self-made satisfaction, **'the desire for her is becoming a bit unbearable…I need to control myself…damn it, I have some pride left!' **

They remained in hushed silence in the hallway, neither one daring to speak up just yet and Vegeta was about to simply return to his bedroom when Bulma approached him once again, but this time with a certain child like innocence in her manner, as she simply wrapped her arms around his waist and rested her head gently on his chest.

He felt her rise and fall in his arms from the slow and gentle breathes she took in and couldn't resist wrapping her in his own arms, hugging her tighter.

"**Wouldn't it be wonderful"** she whispered excitedly yet dreamily into him, **"if we could just stay like this forever?"**

He wasn't sure how she expected him to respond to that since he hadn't really pondered on the subject himself.

"**It would be an improvement"** he finally replied in a gruff voice as he gazed down at her but she didn't look up, just kept her face buried.

"**Hmmmm…I think it'd be more than just that…"**

"**I could arrange for it to be permanent…if…"** he suggested with an urge to his voice but Bulma merely shook her head before giving him a playful smack on the arm as she pulled away and took a light step back.

"**It doesn't matter what you arrange Vegeta…"** she giggled, as she bent down and retrieved her wrap from the floor, before bringing it around herself.** "You're still going to that party"**


	46. Tears Of Blood

_**Pride & Prejudice **__**D.B.Z**_

_**Chapter Forty Six**_

_Bulma bolted off the sofa and ran in a flash towards the front door, desperate to just leave the house and get something heavy into her system. Whipping the door open she gave the engaged couple a bit of a fright, flaring thin in her waving black wrap and ablaze starting-to-tangle hair._

"**Where have you guys been! You're SO LATE!"**_ she squealed in annoyance, clutching Goku's arm and wrenching him in as Chichi followed from behind, looking very timid in her outfit. It was a silver sequined micro mini and atop her head she wore a glitter covered crown, fashioned entirely by the handiwork of Krillen's merry new fling, Marron. _

"**I'm so sorry Bulma"**_ Chichi whimpered in a shy voice as she attempted to lower the hem line of her dress, unsuccessfully, _**"but Goku was having "problems" with his clothes"**

"**Kami! Same issue here! Vegeta's been whining about his outfit all evening"**

"**Honestly woman, I take my eyes off you for one second and you've already started belittling me behind my back. Where DO your loyalties lie?"**

_Whirling around with her breathe caught from the unsuspecting interruption she found Vegeta waiting at the foot of the staircase, dressed most efficiently in the outfit she had chosen for him with all the care in the world._

_He strode over to the where the three stood and aligned himself with her and she couldn't help but bring her hands to his collar once again, adjusting it out of habit while he rolled his eyes in exhasperation._

"**I thought you were in a hurry to leave?"**_ he quizzed her, the familiar smirk there on his face, easing her in a hushed tone as Bulma pulled a bit on the jacket and arranged it for him._

"**Why so desperate for me to leave?"**_ she asked curiously, batting her eyelashes up at him, folding the collar upwards and pressing it out to make it even._

"**So we can get this night over and done with"**___he whispered in a quick and hurried voice, while eying the waiting couple behind them significantly, not even close to noticing her attempts at flattering._

"**Oh…so…you have nothing…particular…planned tonight"**_ she hinted almost hopefully as she pulled the collar forward, her desperation growing._

"**What are you suggesting woman?"**_ Vegeta pried down curiously at her, one eyebrow raised skeptically and Bulma felt almost sure they weren't on the same page and so simply shook her head to reduce the implication, determined to escape the situation, dignity intact. She absent mindedly put a few finishing touches to the collar's fold before leaning forward and planting a quick kiss on his cheek and as she did, she saw the red fill his cheeks as they warmed up._

"**Woah! Vegeta!"**_ Goku exclaimed in humor_**, "since when did you become a player!"**

_The look Vegeta sent his comrade's way would have easily frozen H.F.I.L thrice over._

_It wasn't long before they had all been ushered out to the front of Capsule Corporation by Bulma's efforts and bid each other farewell, which involved Goku and Chichi locking into a passionate kiss by Bulma's hover car while it's owner and Vegeta waited impatiently in an eerie awkwardness, until finally it became a bit too much._

"**OH FOR KAMI'S SAKE KAKAROT!"**_ Vegeta finally exploded, causing Goku and Chichi to rip away from each other, dumbstruck, as the earth beneath them rumbled slightly _**"You're going to see her again in a few HOURS! Stop sucking face and get going!"**

_And with that stated most efficiently he leaned in towards Bulma and whispered_**, "I will get you for this"**_ in a haggard voice before giving her a scathingly, almost carnivorous nip on the ear and then withdrawing as fast as possible. He roughly stomped passed Goku and Chichi, growling in their direction, before waiting along the edge of the pathway that led most distinctly to Goku's own hover car, making it known that he was getting extremely impatient._

_Chichi looked over in Bulma's direction for an explanation to the entire scene to which she could only shrug with a small smile, her ear still burning from where his lips had touched her, how the tip of his teeth had gently sunk in sending that tiny sensation of pain, piercing through the skin slightly. She lifted a gloved hand up and touched the infiltrated spot where his Saiyan fangs had sunk in and brought back the smallest drop of blood she had ever seen. It was pain all right, but a most beautiful pain. _

'**Beautiful pain? Bulma, you've lost your mind'**_ she laughed to herself as she got into the driver's seat and waved the men goodbye before unlocking the door to the passenger seat, which was filled in much to quickly by Chichi._

"**WHAT was that?"**_ were her demanding words as soon as she had slammed the door shut. She wasn't even making a move for the seat belt but simply staring straight at her, her gaze unwavering, almost accusing._

"**Oh…that…that was Vegeta being Vegeta of course…you now how impatient he can be sometimes" **_she sang off nonchalant as she fit the key into the ignition and brought the engine to life, giving Chichi a smile._

_But her best friend knew her too well to simply let that be and Bulma was only half surprised when she reached forward and swiped the key out, killing the engine instantly._

"**No…not that. I'm talking about AFTER the yelling. WHAT was THAT?"**

_Bulma brought a tentative hand back up to her ear and felt the spot burning most delightfully and as she did, Chichi's gaze followed her movement and instantly spotted her ear._

"**Bulma, you're bleeding!"**_ she exclaimed in horror, looking around in a hurry and snatching a tissue up from the box on the dash board, and proceeded to cushion her ear with it, squeezing it as she wiped the blood._

"**Chichi, you're over exaggerating, it's nothing"**_ she chided, somehow unable to understand why it was such a big deal. It had been a little nip on the ear, an affectionate kind of notion that had sent her heart beat crazy, until she was pretty sure she would stop breathing. _

"**Nothing!"**_ Chichi shrieked, withdrawing the tissue and waving it in her face_**, "You call this nothing! I'm surprised he didn't bite your ear off"**

_And it was only when Bulma saw the damp scarlet thing that Chichi held did she realize that THAT was the tissue, and snatched it from her in shock. She switched on the hover car's inner light, ignored Chichi's paling face and snapped the rear view mirror in her direction to get a side ways glimpse of her ear._

_Vegeta's bite had been around the top rim and over there she could make out the deep mark of where his teeth had sunk in indefinitely for a fraction of a second, and from there blood was dripping out in two our three rivers down her ear. _

_A smile crept across her face as she reached out for another tissue and wrapped her ear up in it._

"**Are you…smiling?"**_ Chichi asked incredulously as Bulma returned to starting the car again._

"**No"**_ Bulma smiled back, unable to help it as she reversed._

"**Okay, correct me if I'm wrong"**_ Chichi began, almost helplessly as she sunk into her seat, _**"but I think you just gotten bitten by your boyfriend right before he stormed off…and you're happy…that really doesn't add up"**

"**You're wrong…he's not my boyfriend"**_ Bulma stated simply, the smile unwavering as she turned out of the drive way and joined in on the main road, while making implicative gestures towards Chichi's seat belt._

"**He's not? But…I thought…I mean…you said…I thought you guys were…well…you kiss a lot"**

_Bulma couldn't help but burst out in guffaws at this statement and the car veered about dangerously, causing Chichi to shriek, and cover her eyes while struggling to click to seatbelt closed._

"**Kiss a lot! That's a bit of an understatement"**_ she joked, settling the car back into a regular drive as she joined a line of traffic. _**"And don't worry, we are…together…I mean, but we don't exactly have a very certain label. He was opposed to being referred to as a "boyfriend""**

"**And is that a good thing?" **_Chichi asked in a shaky voice, her insides churning as Bulma started to speed up again as soon as the green light flashed. Honestly, she was a most vehement driver._

"**I guess…it's not like it demeans the relationship, right?"**

_Even as Bulma said this, she felt the uncertainty begin to creep in, its dark gloomy shadow contorting her thoughts._

_She loved Vegeta, didn't she? Of course she did. She was a hundred percent sure she had established that by now and there were no two ways around the matter. She was head over heels for the alien._

_Did he love her? That to, she new the answer was yes. He didn't proclaim it to her or make any huge gestures or statements, but that was simply his personality and beliefs coming in the way and Bulma couldn't help but respect this of him._

_Yet, why did she feel, that despite everything there was some sort of boundary in the way, something blocking them. _

_As Chichi had so tactfully put it, they kissed a lot, but when it came down to it, that was as emotionally physical as they ever got. They never did anything beyond kissing and though she adored those deeply she wondered, would there be anything more? Or was Vegeta simply not going to subject to anything more with her?_

"**Bulma…Bulma…are you even paying attention to the road! You just ran a stop sign"**

_Chichi's hand came waving in her face and awoke her from her dismal thoughts so that she was able to swerve into the correct lane once again._

"**Bulma! You've always been a rash driver but what is up with you today?" **

"**You know that bite?"**_ Bulma excitedly questioned out of no where, pointing hysterically at her ear, determined to blabber something to control a hurt that was slowly growing inside her. _**"THIS bite! You know WHY I'm smiling?"**

_Chichi shook her head in silence, in the negative, wondering with a perplexed expression where this would lead them, if not a car crash._

"**This bite…it's the first thing he's actually done with me…too me…without me!"**

_She knew it sounded incoherent but Bulma knew what she was saying was true._

"**Bulma…sweetie…I don't under-"**

"**When we hug Chichi…I ALWAYS hug him…then he hugs back! When we kiss…I ALWAYS KISS HIM…never the other way around. It's only when I do it, that he responds and yes, it's absolutely amazing when he does but…why do I always have to start, you know?"**

_She turned dangerously around a corner and began speeding up ahead, the hover car going a bit off balance but Bulma wasn't done._

"**This bite though, it's different! Because, it's the first thing he's ever done, on his OWN! I didn't have to lure him in, or try to trap him, or seduce him or anything I normally have to foolishly do to get something out of him. This was his first mark, the first move he made on ME! FINALLY!"**

_She banged the steering wheel for good measure before thrashing it to the right and making a turn while Chichi crossed her fingers and made secret prayer._

_They drove on a bit further until they finally hit a red light and it was then that Bulma couldn't help it and she broke down as a silent tear began to trickle down her cheek._

"**Sweetie…don't cry"**_ Chichi ushered in a soothing voice and fought the restraint of the elastic seat belt to reach forward and take her friend in her arms. _**"Ssssshhhh…it's alright"**

"**CHI! Am I doing something wrong? Am I being too forceful? Am I not being forceful enough? I mean, all these subtle hints…they will NEVER work on Vegeta. You have to upfront with the man for Kami's sake!"**

_And since it seemed they wouldn't be moving for a while Bulma went down and buried her head into Chichi's shoulder, desperate to know what she could possibly do to understand the one she loved._

"**I just…I want to know…if he ever actually wants to be more than this. If we will ever actually move beyond this awkward stage and be even more open with each other than we are. I need to know that one day he'll let me come in further. Better yet, I need to know that HE'LL come in further. And that I won't have to be the one to make the first move"**

_Chichi rubbed her back rhythmically and wondered at the strangeness of it all, how none of this could have ever been foreseen just a month ago._

_How had she come to love the Saiyan Prince so much so quickly?_

"**Bulma…you need to relax"**_ she finally advised, so that the red eyed blue head lifted her head up slightly to give her a watery gaze. _**"Take it from a second source, and the second sources fiancé who can't keep his opinion to himself. You and Vegeta, what you have, is a little bit more than a common dating relationship.****Because it is solidly based on growing affection and nothing less. The love I see written so plainly across his face, though he tries with all his might to hide it, is all directed towards you honey. He loves you more than you can imagine, more than you love him in fact"**

"**I highly doubt that"**_ Bulma whispered, trying to smile again upon hearing these words, but she wasn't sure just yet. Chichi went on._

"**Okay Bulma, take it from someone who sees it! Vegeta looks at you in such a way that I'm surprised he hasn't jumped your bones yet and I marvel at his self control!"**

_Bulma immediately sat up at this, laughing slightly. _

"**What?"**

"**You heard me. He is as much a sex fiend as Goku, I guarantee it"**

"**Oh MY GOD CHICHI! Please leave you and Goku out of this. I'd rather not here about how my childhood friend has a need to make love to my best friend!"**

"**Hey, it's the truth, and I'm just the messenger. And what I'm trying to say is, Vegeta does want to go further, and definitely does want to do more and if he hasn't…I have a feeling it's because of you"**

"**Me? What the hell did I do wrong?"**

"**Oh nothing. You're in the clear. But he probably hasn't made a move on you because he might think you're unwilling to go that far"**

_The red light morphed green and the hover cars ahead began to trail forward, and Bulma followed into step gracefully._

"**Would Vegeta honestly care about that?" **_she wondered aloud, talking to herself more than Chichi. _**"I always assumed he'd be the type of person to just…how do I put it…let a girl have it?"**

"**That's a bit crude don't you think?" **_Chichi chirped up._

"**He told you and Goku to 'stop sucking face'"**

"**And what exactly were you saying about him letting****a girl have it?"**

"**Only that I didn't expect him to be so considerate in this respect. I mean, I know he's changed, for the better and I know he has a soft side he doesn't really like to show, but the fact that I might be unwilling to do something so relevant to our relationship… I'm surprised he hasn't made me"**

"**Bulma…that's like accusing him of being a rapist"**

_As she heard this Bulma gulped, her throat was feeling entirely too heavy. She brought the car down another corner and parked it in front of the dim building, their venue for the night._

_Just as she was about to unbuckle her seat belt she felt Chichi's hand rest on hers._

"**Talk to him Bulma. Because despite everything he is, and everything I sometimes think him to be, he genuinely does care about you. And honestly, what else can you want from a lover?"**


	47. UPATE

CRUCIAL UPDATE

You know that feeling when you write something, and years later you come back to it and you laugh at the stuff you've written. At the same time though, there's that nagging feeling that you could've fixed something here or edited something there.

Well this is how I feel about this fan fiction.

And so, to all my fans so fair, who have liked this fic, I ask you to bare with me and apologize for leaving you on a cliff hanger. After reading the fan fiction over again I realized Pride and Prejudice DBZ needs a little tweaking.

I remember when I was still in the heat of writing this fic that one review came and told me off slightly. Or more specifically, my writing style. I was put off, at the time, by the criticism but now I realize that maybe rewriting this fan fiction may in fact be the best idea. So that is what I intend to do.

It will take a while and I may have to make a few adjustments to the plot line to encourage realism and depth. I love Jane Austen. So I'll try and do her justice this time.

The basic elements will still be there though. And don't worry. I'll post up forewarnings about which chapters are necessary to read due to changes and which aren't so you can skip those.

Hope to hear from you all soon! And wish me luck on the literal second version of 'Pride & Prejudice DBZ'


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